Akwa Ibom denies Ebola outbreak The Akwa Ibom State Government has denied information on the internet that cases of the deadly Ebola Virus Disease have been recorded in the state. The state Commissioner for Information and Communications, Mr. Aniekan Umanah, in a joint statement with the state’s Commissioner for Health, Dr. Ememabasi Bassey, said in Uyo on Tuesday evening that there was no case of Ebola in the state. It said, “The rumoured Ebola case at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital is unfounded. “The dead body brought in from Port Harcourt was confirmed to have died from allergies and not because of the Ebola virus. The other rumoured case died from renal failure and was buried in his community.” The statement indicated that the lady alleged to have had contact with the Ebola case in Port Harcourt, was traced to Aba and not Akwa Ibom. The said lady has however, been certified free of the Ebola virus. Umanah called for universal action against Ebola from both medical workers and citizens. He revealed that the state government has constituted a task force to prevent the disease from gaining entry into the state and is also involved in inter-state collaboration against the disease. Umanah said, “The state government has so far acquired hand-held infra red screening machines and no passenger passes through Akwa Ibom airport without being screened. More machines have been acquired for distribution to strategic places, in order to ensure adequate coverage of the Ebola screening exercise in the state.” There was a report as circulated across the state that following the quarantine of about 200 persons suspected to have had primary and secondary contacts with a Port Harcourt-based medical doctor, the late Iyke Enemuo, and the rumoured escape of his sister to Abia and later Akwa Ibom, fears of the disease entering the state had been high, causing panic in many parts of the state. It was learnt that a great number of Port Harcourt residents are Akwa Ibom indigenes and may have had contacts with patients currently quarantined at a treatment centre in Oduoha, Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers State. It was further gathered that with the last weekend South-South rally organised in support of President Goodluck Jonathan’s second term bid, many of the Port Harcourt residents who attended the rally might have had contacts with their kinsmen from Akwa Ibom and as the virus spreads like wild fire, some may have come back to the state with the virus without knowing. (Sourec: Punchng)
Posted on: Tue, 02 Sep 2014 19:25:20 +0000