Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, Monday said all the patients who had tested positive to the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) and currently undergoing treatment at the Infectious Disease Hospital, Yaba, were in “stable condition”.
The governor also explained that while the health status of the victims of the deadly virus had not deteriorated, five of them were “really improving,” adding, “Ebola is not an automatic death sentence.”
However, the governor’s positive news on the Ebola patients coincided with the confirmation by the Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, that another Nigerian, a nurse, had tested positive for the virus, while 177 primary and secondary contacts of the index case had been placed under surveillance or isolation.
Even as the minister gave the update on the efforts by government to contain the virus, it was revealed yesterday that a letter written by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) had asked the health ministry to take timely and proactive measures against the deadly disease but it failed to do so.
Fahsola, who gave the situation report on the response of the Ebola victims to treatment at different meetings with religious leaders, chairmen and health workers of the 57 local councils in the state, said two deaths – the Liberian and the nurse had been recorded.
“We now have 10 persons in isolation that are receiving treatment. Eight of them have been confirmed positive for the Ebola Virus Disease. We are still waiting for the results of the remaining two persons.
“All of them are stable, which means that they are not deteriorating. Five of them have really improved. This means they are fighting back. It confirms that Ebola is not an automatic death sentence if we do the right thing at the right time,” he said.
