Minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu made the
announcement yesterday in Abuja during a joint press briefing with the
ministers of Information, Interior and Women Affairs. He however, said though
the drug which was donated by a Nigerian scientist holds great promise for the
treatment of EVD, it would only be administered to willing patients after it
has been properly evaluated by the National Committee on the Treatment and
Research of Ebola Virus Disease. Chukwu, who said the drug would be delivered
to Lagos yesterday, said government was still reaching out to the World Health
Organisation (WHO) and relevant research agencies with regard to the country
receiving other drugs or vaccines. He allayed the fear that the runaway Lagos
nurse might have infected her contacts on her way to Enugu, explaining that
since the nurse had not displayed symptoms during her trip to Enugu, it was not
likely that she infected her co-passengers. He said the only six of the
contacts of the nurse, who recently got wedded have been placed under
surveillance, while 15 others were left off the hook after rigorous scrutiny.
The minister also disclosed that the nurse was receiving treatment in Lagos,
just as her husband who is yet to display symptoms of the disease has been
quarantined since he had, “intimate” contact with his wife. He said: The nurse
who is right now in Lagos is among the 11 first contacts of the index case, who
have tested positive to the disease and she is being treated. But her husband
who is yet to show symptoms and who is yet to test positive for Ebola as
at now is under quarantine in Lagos due to the intimate contact with his wife.
Sun Newspaper
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