Virology
By Chukwuemeka Opara
Abakaliki, May 22, 2018 (NAN) The Virology Centre of the Federal Teaching Hospital (FETHA), Abakaliki, says it has treated and discharged 98 patients who suffered attacks of Lassa fever in the state since January.
The hospital’s Chief Medical Director, Dr Emeka Ogah, made the disclosure on Tuesday in Abakaliki, while receiving lassa fever management equipment from the Medicines San Frontiers or Doctors Without Borders.
Ogah said that the disease which was first reported in the state in 2005, later resurfaced in January 2018 and killed three medical personnel.
He said: “When we lost two doctors and two nurses, I cried unto God and prayed that the dead be a sacrificed to permanently check the deadly disease.
“The Federal Ministry of Health assisted in checking the outbreak by providing the necessary material and personnel which greatly reduced the number of casualties.
“The Ebonyi Government under the leadership of Gov. David Umahi, also helped tremendously by constructing and equipping the virology centre under three months, thus making it operational.
“The centre is currently diagnosing and effectively treating Lassa fever patients, and we will do our best to ensure that the disease does not resurge in the state.”
He added that “I thank the management and staff of the hospital for their cooperation in the checking the disease, especially the internal medicine, infection and gastroenterology units.
“I thank Mrs Nneka Igwenyi, a Senior Registrar at the hospital who consistently identified Lassa fever patients when other health workers ran away from the victims.
“I also thank the resident doctors and nurses who contributed immensely, especially in managing pregnant women afflicted with the disease.’’
The chief medical director thanked the MSF team for their intervention, and noted that though they were not invited, they sacrificed their lives to check the disease in the state.
“They commenced the distribution of consumable, drugs, antibiotics, among others and constructed an incinerator which is important for effective management of the disease.
“They have further informed us that they would extend their stay in the state from two months to one year and have trained our staff to effectively combat the disease.” he said.
Prof Isaac Adewole, Minister of Health also commended the MSF team for their contributions toward healthcare delivery in the country since 1971.
Adewole represented by an aide, Dr Areola Sigilola, noted that MSF attended to citizens ravaged by famine after the Nigerian civil war and had become household names.
“They tremendously intervened during the 2013 flood disaster in the country, the Ebola outbreak of 2014 and the insurgency in the North-East part of the country,” he added.’
He said that in the past two months, the MSF had supported the state at the virology centre through capacity building for workers in areas of infection prevention and control.
Dr Claire Lansard, the Project Manager of MSF, said that his team combated the outbreak and trained doctors on its effective management.
“We are the emergency team that arrived to combat the disease but the sustenance team will soon arrive the state to provide more training for medical personnel.
“We have donated mostly protective devices such as beds, gloves, surgical tools, chlorines, stretchers, goggles, among others, while the incinerating sets will soon arrive in the state’,’ he said. (NAN)
RCO/JTJ/PDE
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(Edited by Julius Toba Jegede/Peter Ejiofor)