Ebola Virus

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ECOWAS staff dies of Ebola in Nigeria

This brings the number of deaths to three. God have mercy on us. A staff of the Lagos Liason office of the Economic Community of West African State – ECOWAS headquarters, Mr Jatto Abdulqudir has died of the Ebola Virus disease. He was aged 36. Below is a statement from ECOWAS management.

“The ECOWAS Commission announces with deep regret the passing of a staff member of its Lagos Liaison Office, Mr. Jatto Asihu Abdulqudir, aged 36. Mr. Abdulqudir, a Protocol Assistant, was among those who assisted the Liberian delegate to a regional meeting Mr. Patrick Sawyer, who died from the Ebola Virus Disease at a Lagos hospital on 25th July 2014.
“Mr. Abdulqudir had been under quarantine following that sad incident.
“The Commission wishes to use this opportunity to express its gratitude to Nigerian government authorities and others who contributed to managing the late official while under quarantine. The Management of the Commission wishes to commiserate with Mr. Abdulqudir’s family and colleagues and prays for the repose of his soul.
“Before this sad event, the Commission working in collaboration with Nigerian health authorities, had disinfected all the facilities of the ECOWAS Lagos Liaison Office as part of precautionary measures to safeguard the health, safety and security of staff members, and will continue to monitor the situation.
“Management has also intensified awareness campaign among staff on the deadly virus and uses this opportunity to invoke the spirit of solidarity and mutual assistance.
“The Commission wishes to reassure staff of all Community Institutions all over the entire region that it is taking all necessary steps to guarantee their health and safety.
“Furthermore, Management enjoins all staff members and community citizens in general to intensify the observance of personal hygiene. They should also report any suspected case to health facilities and seek medical advice or attention for the effective containment and defeat of the Ebola disease.
“On the directive of regional leaders, ECOWAS has already set up a Solidarity Fund to fight the disease and has solicited the support   contribution of Member States and development partners to the Fund to rid the region of the virus.
“The ECOWAS Commission wishes to reiterate its continued commitment to support Member States in confronting this deadly virus.”

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Ebola Virus: "60% of the transmission was spread during burial ceremonies."- President Goodluck Jonathan.

It’s sad how the carelessness of one person (a foreigner) has put the lives of citizens of another country in jeopardy. Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan during the annual Interfaith Conference in Abuja today revealed that 60% of the EVD transmission was spread during burial ceremonies.

“As a government, we promise that we will do everything humanly possible to contain the Ebola virus. On Wednesday, I will meet with governor of the states, and they must come with their commissioners of Health along. We must make sure that every state is prepared, where they lack, the federal government will support them.”

“My conversation with the WHO DG, Dr Margaret Chan was revealing, she said 60 per cent of the transmission was spread during burials. That is why in my announcement, I’ve been saying that people should be careful about burials. Some people like burial ceremonies. This is not the time for burial ceremony, somebody is dead, he is dead, leave him there. This is not the best time for those ceremonies.”

“If he is dead, he is already dead, Sawyer that brought this Ebola to Nigeria; his sister died of Ebola. And he started acting somehow, his country asked him not to leave the country, let them observe him, but the crazy man decided to leave and found his way here.” He said in a statement.

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Ebola Virus: Kunle Afolayan and brother isolated on flight

Nollywood actor, Kunle Afolayan revealed how he and his younger brother, Gabriel Afolayan were isolated on a flight because of the fear of Ebola virus. The award-winning director and his sibling who recently arrived Bel Ombre, Seychelles said they had to go through many protocols simply because they are from West Africa; a region where the EVD is rampant.

“We landed Republic of Seychelles safe and sound. Myself and Gabriel were isolated from the other Kenyan crew that went we us and we were made to sign plenty forms cos we came from west africa (Ebola region). Gabriel didn’t have his yellow fever card so he has to do a test tomorrow and bring the result back to the health section of the airport. Thanks to SBC to the rescue and warm welcome.” He wrote on his facebook page.
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Ebola Virus: NNPC shuts down Victoria Island clinic

The Victoria Island, Lagos clinic of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has been shut down after a suspected case of Ebola virus. Below is a statement by Ohi Alegbe, Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division.
 
“The management of the NNPC has announced the indefinite shutdown of its clinic in the Muri Okunola area of Victoria Island, Lagos, following a suspected case of Ebola virus on admission at the clinic.
It was discovered that the patient visited the First Consultant Medical Centre during the period the first Ebola case was reported at that clinic.
 
“In the meantime, all contacts with this case are being traced and adequate precautionary measures instituted to contain the possible spread of the disease. The medical team has assured that the patient is in stable condition.”
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Ebola Virus: Kunle Afolayan, Toyin Aimakhu, Yomi Fash-Lanso, others feature in new campaign

Ace filmmaker, Tunde Kelani has joined the Nigerian Government/Ministry of Health who are intensifying awareness campaign to enlighten people on the deadly Ebola virus. Movie Moments gathered that the award-winning cinematographer was reportedly contacted by a UK-based international health organization to shoot the campaign ad.

Nollywood actors working on the project include Kunle Afolayan, Toyin Aimakhu, Halima Abubakar, Yomi Fash Lanso, Funky Mallam and many more.

Credit: Movie Moments

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Opinion: Ebola: Leave Patrick Sawyer alone | By: Naomi Lucas

We are a funny bunch of people in this country. A very funny bunch. So Patrick Sawyer came into the country with the dreaded Ebola virus. So he died. Now there is Ebola in Nigeria and it has emerged that Patrick may have known he had the virus before travelling. So freaking what? Insulting the dead man does not solve the problem. Heaping curses on him and his genealogy past, present and future does not solve the problem.

Patrick Sawyer made it to Nigeria because of lapses on the part of the Liberian government. Patrick Sawyer ended up infecting some Nigerians because of lapses at the airport and the hospital he was taken to. These are institutional problems that have existed before you and I were born. We knew there was an outbreak of Ebola more than a month before Patrick boarded a plane headed in our direction, yet our health workers treated him without taking the necessary precautions.

The way the system works, if it wasn’t Patrick, it would have been someone else. I mean, you can travel by road across West Africa without a passport, just hold enough cash to tip Immigrations. As we speak, tons of people are still travelling to and from other West African states into Nigeria. That is the reality. Deal with it.

Please, do us all a favour, read, listen to and watch materials on how to safeguard yourself and do as instructed. Stop fanning the embers of panic and paranoia, quoting figures from western media that don’t even know where your country is located on a freaking map. Ebola is not a death sentence. The fatality rate is 51%. Some cancers are worse.

And for those who have spent all day insulting the dead Patrick, a big shame on you! You should know better. You should be better. And just to help you sleep better tonight, remember no one is promised tomorrow anyway.

May the need for survival not turn us all into unfeeling monsters

Credit: naomilucas.blogspot.com

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Minister of Health issues statement on the status of Ebola virus in Nigeria

Nigeria’s Minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu has issued a statement on the status of Ebola virus in Nigeria.

UPDATE ON THE STATUS OF EBOLA VIRUS DISEASE IN NIGERIA

Nigeria has now recorded seven (7) confirmed cases of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD). The first one was the index case-the imported case from Liberia of which the victim is now late.

Yesterday, 5th August, 2014, the first known Nigerian to die of the EVD was recorded and this was one of the nurses that attended to the Liberian. The other five cases are currently being treated at the Isolation ward in Lagos.

It is pertinent to note that:

i. All the Nigerians diagnosed of the EVD were primary contacts of the index case.

ii. The 24/7 Emergency Operations Centre which I intimated you of in my last press conference will be fully functional by tomorrow. It will be headed by Dr. Faisal Shuaibu as the Incident Manager. He will later today lead a 6-man inter-agency team drawn from National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), the US CDC, the WHO, UNICEF and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to Lagos to complete the setting up of the Centre.

They will be joined by the other personnel from the Lagos State Government and the federal hospitals in the Lagos area as well as the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control. I have also appointed a Director of Communication and Community Mobilization who will be based in Lagos- Prof. O. Onajole of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital.

We are embarking on recruiting additional health personnel to strengthen the team who are currently managing the situation in Lagos.

We are making arrangements to procure Isolation tents to quicken the pace of providing isolation wards in all the states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory.

We are also setting up a special team to provide counseling and psychosocial support to patients, identified contacts and their families.

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Ebola: Lagos doctor who treated dead Liberian tests positive

Nigeria’s Minister of Health, Onyebuchi Chukwu has announced that the Lagos doctor who treated the Liberian man that died few days ago of Ebola Virus has tested positive to the Virus. The Minister also added that 8 people who had first degree contact with the Liberian have been quarantined and are under strict observation.

Credit: PUNCH

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Ebola Virus: 5 Facts The Media Forgot To Tell You

On a normal day, I worry about how often I wash my hands. I wash them a lot. So imagine my paranoia when I heard about the Ebola virus. It was disturbing enough when people in other West African countries were dealing with the disease. When I heard about the Liberian that died in Lagos, I began to lose sleep. My very active imagination played out all the possible scenarios and ways one could get Ebola. It was not pretty.
I attended an event last week where I met an acquaintance I hadn’t seen in a while. In my excitement I rushed for a hug and she hesitated, apologetically blaming Ebola. I shrugged and jokingly added, that while we are here worrying about death by Ebola, rapture will take place. We both laughed and went our separate ways.
The disease has gotten a lot of attention, rightly so considering the sheer number of people it has killed in its wake, but really should we be that afraid? That paranoid? I wasn’t sure so I decided to do some research. You know how it is, the bible says, ‘My people perish for lack of knowledge.’
What I found was reassuring to say the least. While the media has done a great job in keeping everyone abreast of the latest Ebola updates, it has done an unbelievably dismal job of reducing the fear and panic that has gripped the average west african.
The following represent the facts about Ebola and its transmission
(Beyond what might already be out there):
(1) The virus is often spread through families and friends because they
come in close contact with such secretions when caring for infected
persons. – Center For Disease Control And Prevention (CDC)
(2) Human to human transmission is only achieved by physical contact with the body fluids of a person who is acutely ill or who has died from Ebola. Transmission among humans is mainly among caregiver family members or health care workers tending to the very ill, or in
preparation of the body of a deceased case for burial. – US Embassy
(Liberia), July 28th, 2014
(3) A person can have the virus without symptoms for 2-21 days, the average being 5 to 8 days before becoming ill. The person is not contagious until they are acutely ill. (Technically, if the person
beside you does not look sick, he/she cannot infect you. Emphasis mine.) US Embassy (Liberia), July 28th, 2014
(4) While all Ebola virus species have displayed the ability to be spread through airborne particles under research conditions, this type of spread has not been documented among humans in a real-world setting, such as a hospital or household. (In other words, the disease is not airborne. Emphasis mine.) – CDC
(5) Casual contact in public places with people that do not appear to be sick do not transmit Ebola. One cannot contract Ebola virus by handling money, groceries or swimming in a pool. Mosquitoes do not
transmit the Ebola virus. – National Center For Disease Control, India
Based on the facts above I’d say breathe easy, sleep better. No need to chew your nails in anxiety. Ebola is most likely not coming for you except if you deliberately expose yourself to unsafe conditions. Take simple precautions; keep a hand sanitizer in your bag or pocket and
use sparingly. Eat like you normally would but be sure to cook animal
products properly. While you are at it, spread hope, not fear.
Credit: Naomi Lucas (www.naomilucas.blogspot.com)
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