Ebola: UK varsities on alert for Nigerian students, others

Thousands of Nigerians admitted into United Kingdom universities appear sure to face tough health screening as their campuses have been placed on the vigilant for the hazard posed   by the Ebola Virus Disease.

According to The Independent on Sunday, the   vigilant by Universities UK, the umbrella body that represents vice-chancellors, was issued because the universities are expecting   incipient students to arrive from West Africa.

While the three countries which have visually perceived the most immensely colossal number of Ebola cases – Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone – have scarcely any students enrolling at UK universities, Nigeria – which has withal had attested cases – is the fourth most sizably voluminous supplier of international students to UK universities.

In 2012-13, the latest year for which figures are available, a total of 9,630 were enrolled.

A spokesman for the body verbally expressed, “The issue is very much on universities’ radars. We circulated to universities the publicly available guidance on the topic.”

The guidance makes it clear that any student suspected of having Ebola should immediately be isolated in a side room away from any member of staff or student contact.

“The side room should have dedicated en-suite facilities or at least a dedicated commode,” it verbally expresses. “The level of staff bulwark is dependent on the patient’s condition,” the London-predicated newspaper newspaper verbally expressed.

It integrated that “those having any dealings with the patient must take punctilious hand hygiene precautions, wearing double gloves and a disposable visor.

The guidance told university workers that, “evidence from outbreaks vigorously betokens that the main routes of transmission of infection are direct contact (through broken skin or mucous membrane) and indirect contact with environments contaminated with splashes or droplets of blood or body fluids.”

It verbally expressed that experts “agree that there is no circumstantial or epidemiological evidence of an aerosol transmission risk from patients.”

29 Ebola patients flee as gunmen invade isolation ward

Fears has however heightened that the EVD might spread further in the region after 29 patients fled when armed men assailed their isolation ward in Monrovia, Liberia on Friday.

The incident transpired   as a Nigerian was tested for the virus   in Alicante, home to 82,000 Britons in Spain.

A witness was quoted by The Mailonline as saying that the Liberian gunmen   smashed down the doors of the ward and looted medical supplies.

“They broke down the doors and looted the place. The patients all fled,” verbalized Rebecca Wesseh, who witnessed the assailment.

The Head of Health Workers Association of Liberian, George Williams, attested the incident.

Armed men assailed an Ebola isolation ward in Liberia’s capital city of Monrovia, as visually perceived from the roof of a forsook hotel on Friday. A total of 29 patients fled the ward in terror.
Nigerian tested in Spain, kept in isolation

The Mailonline additionally reported that   the Nigerian was   tested   after going to San Juan Hospital in Alicante with the tell-tale designations of the EVD.

Officials of the hospital verbalized the unnamed Nigerian, who is in his 30s, was being kept in isolation until the results of the tests were kenned.

The officials were verbally expressed to have activated the Ebola protocol after he repined of the flu-like symptoms associated with the onset of the virus.

Paramedics wearing protective suits and masks transferred him from Alicante General Hospital to nearby San Juan.

His condition on Sunday was described as “stable.”

FG to meet hospital owners , orders apprehend of   fake hand sanitiser sellers

Meanwhile, the Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, has verbally expressed he will meet with bellwethers of the Association of General Practitioners of Nigeria and the Guild of Medical Directors of Nigeria over reports that some private hospitals were relucting to treat patients suffering from malaria and fever.

There were media reports  last week that such private hospitals were doing so because of trepidation of contracting the Ebola Virus Disease.

Chukwu,   in an interview with one of our correspondents in Abuja, however attributed the action by such hospitals to inadequate information on the nature and mode of spread of the EVD , which claimed its first victim in Nigeria, Patrick Sawyer, in a private hospital in Lagos.

The hospital   lost its matron and a nurse who were among health workers that handled Sawyer’s case to the disease.

Another nurse, who was additionally involved in the treatment of the Liberian-American is currently being quarantined at the Infectious Diseases Hospital in Yaba, Lagos after she tested positive to the virus.

The medico that attended to Sawyer on his advent at   the private health facility, withal contracted the virus but she survived after 22 days in the IDH.

Chukwu verbalized, “I am meeting with the leadership of the Association of General Practitioners of Nigeria and the Guild of Medical Directors of Nigeria, this week. The two bodies control private practitioners.

“Part of the reason we optate to meet with them is due to reports that the private hospitals were turning back patients suffering from fever and malaria for trepidation of contracting EVD through them.”

He verbally expressed with opportune edification, the country would be able to contain the spread of the disease.

The minister, therefore, urged the media to   attest from him, any rumoured case of Ebola anywhere in the country afore publishing.

Chukwu verbally expressed, “The media should avail the ministry to reduce panic in the society over the issue of Ebola, what we require is perpetual edification of our people. For instance, we have clinical case definition, that is crosschecking cases through laboratory testing.

“That was why, when we went to Abia State, we utilized the laboratory test to convince everybody that the woman suspected to have Ebola did not retain it.

“But because a section of the media did not attest the true status of the woman from me or from the National Centre for Disease Control, they escalated panic in   Abia   by publishing that an Ebola case had been reported in the state. That is the only reason why the woman’s blood was taken for testing.”

On fake hand sanitisers and gloves allegedly being sold to   the public, he verbalized the ministry   had directed the National Agency for Foods and Drugs Administration and Control to commence investigation and bring all the culprits to book.

The minister verbally expressed, “NAFDAC will perpetuate to monitor but we vigorously believe that the unauthentically spurious versions of hand sanitisers are being engendered and sold   by some people .

“NAFDAC will perpetuate to do its job and we hope that very anon, those perpetrating the malefaction will be apprehended and prosecuted.”

Chukwu withal gainsaid mentioning the denomination of the female medico who treated the tardy Liberian – American. The medico was discharged from the isolation ward on Saturday.

Chukwu, in a verbalization by his Special Assistant on Media and Communication, Mr. Dan Nwomeh, on Sunday, verbally expressed he did not refer to the medico as Dr. Adedevor , as quoted in the media.

The verbalization read in part, “It has been brought to the attention of the   minister     that the first Nigerian to be diagnosed of EVD,   is being reported in some section of the media to be one Dr. Adadevor.

“The minister wishes to elucidate that the designation of the patient is not Dr. Adadevo.   This should be noted. The minister’s verbal expression on Saturday while denoting that it was a female medico did not betoken the designation of the patient.”

Sahara Reporters later quoted Chukwu as having verbally expressed in a verbalization that five EVD     patients being treated at the IDH had virtually plenarily recuperated.

He was verbalized to have additionally substantiated that Nano Silver, an experimental drug,   had failed to meet the required standards and therefore would not be utilized on Ebola patients.