By Ayoni M. Agbabiaka
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has again said that no case of Ebola “is present in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).”
The FCT Health and Human Services Secretariat said this yesterday in a statement signed by its Public Relations Officer, Badaru Salisu Yakasai.
The statement said: “The Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) “had entered Nigeria from Liberia on July 23, 2014, and has claimed its first victim in the country by July 25. Since then, cases have been reported in Lagos, Enugu and Rivers states with the death toll standing at six confirmed cases.
Fortunately, no case has been confirmed in the Federal Capital Territory.”
It said in order to raise awareness of Health workers towards control of the Ebola virus disease, the department of the Public Health, FCT Health and Human Services Secretariat, organised a one day sensitisation workshop on Ebola for health care workers in the secondary and tertiary health institutions in the FCT last week at the Maitama District Hospital.
However, the statement said further that the family medicine unit of Asokoro District hospital suspected Ebola disease in a patient on admission at the accident and emergency unit on the 28th of August 2014 and immediately isolated the patient and the unit was condoned off.
Yakasai said strict infection control measures were immediately instituted. Blood sample was then taken to the designated FCT Ebola testing laboratory within the hospital premises.
The epidemiology unit of Public Health Department was notified, and the clinical assessment did not reveal any history of contact or travel but unfortunately the patient died the next day, Friday 29th August 2014.
The results of the Ebola testing were expected yesterday, but at the point of this report, the result was not ready.
The accident and emergency unit was temporarily relocated to the General Outpatient Unit (GOPD) as a list of all medical staff who had come into contact with the patient has been compiled and are now under surveillance.
The statement urge the general public not to panic as a case of Ebola has not been confirmed at the hospital and the measures that have been put in place are only precautionary in the interest of public safety.
The statement said the case served as a drill case to test the preparedness of the hospital on managing and containing the Ebola disease.
According to the statement, this Ebola outbreak is the largest, most severe, most complex in the nearly four decade’s history of the disease.
