There was fear in Ibadan yesterday, when news broke out that the first case of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) has been recorded in Oyo State.
A sick baby, who was taken to Adeoyo State Hospital, Ring Road, Ibadan on Monday, was said to have manifested symptoms of the disease at the hospital. It was gathered that the development caused commotion in the hospital as staff members, patients as well as other visitors reportedly ran for safety.
Some residents of the community, it was gathered were considering relocation from the area, pending the confirmation of the case by the government, while many have vowed not to go near the hospital, to avoid contracting the virus.
But the state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Muyiwa Gbadegesin, told newsmen in Ibadan that it was too early to conclude that the suspected patient had the virus, adding that blood sample had been collected from the baby for laboratory analysis at the virology laboratory of the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan.
His words: “We saw a suspected patient. It will be presumptuous to jump into conclusion until the result of the test is out. It is not likely to be positive, but let’s wait for the result of the blood test.”
Gbadegesin, however, appealed to residents of the state not to panic, saying the government had taken necessary steps to check the disease.
Also, an epidemiologist with the State Ministry of Health, Dr. Abass Gbolahan, corroborated what the commissioner said, stressing that the ministry’s record did not show that a child had been infected. “From our records at the Oyo State Ministry of Health, we are not aware of any child said to have the infection.
“The only one that we are aware of is that which was rumoured at the weekend. He was said to have travelled to Liberia and he visited a private hospital in Ibadan,” he said.
Gbolahan stated that the ministry investigated the case and discovered that the suspected person has not travelled outside Nigeria in the past four years. However, he said the ministry did not take anything for chance, as the person had been placed on isolation and his blood sample taken for analysis at UCH. The result of the test, he said, would ascertain the fact.
Meanwhile, the chairman of Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) in the state, Dr. Muideen Olatunji, has said the association has constituted a Response Team (RT) for possible outbreak of EVD in the state. He averred that the ongoing nationwide strike embarked upon by doctors would not prevent members of NMA from helping the state and the country to overcome the Ebola epidemic.
