FINALLY! Fashola Reacts To Ebola Virus Outbreak

Ebola virus disease (EVD), formerly known as Ebola haemorrhagic fever first appeared in 1976 and since then has terrorized the west African region for some time now but until case of Patrick Sawyer, a Liberian government official who died of the fatal disease at the First Consultant Medical Center in Obalende, Lagos there had been reported cases of Ebola in Nigeria.Shockingly  two weeks after the incident occurred  Governor of Lagos state – Babatunde Raji Fashola remained silent on w

hat has caused panic among Lagosians and Nigerians alike until now.Fashola on Friday at Lagos House, Ikeja, said Ebola was no longer a local problem, but an international one that required urgent measures in place to prevent its spread, urging the Federal Government to shut down its borders with affected West African countries to prevent outbreak of Ebola virus in the country.He said, “This is because it is easily transmittable across the borders and boundaries. The Federal Government team has been working with the state’s team. But I think what the Federal Government should do is to consider closing down some of our borders. It is difficult to stop this epidemic and we must now choose the treaty obligations that we hold under the ECOWAS treaty and perhaps short term benefits in terms of economic cost to human life. We must make that choice and consider it very seriously.”“It is a national security issue and I think that we should give it that attention. I think that men and women who man our border posts – sea, air and land – especially the customs, now know that they are our first line of defence. It is prevention, rather than calling the health professionals to quarantine people, that is really the strongest defence against the virus.”Fashola said the cremation of the remains of the Ebola victim in Lagos was the best option as dead bodies emitted fluid. The governor added that all residents who had contacts with the dead Liberian had been tested and that the result proved negative. But there is still risk because we heard that a dead body was brought into the country from Liberia. This means that there is still need for vigilance at our border post. The officials at these places should act professionally and report every incident they suspect,” Fashola added.while In related news, the commissioner for Health Dr Jide Idris has stated that two persons out of those who had contacts with the dead Liberian Ebola victim had manifested symptoms of fever.dris said the two persons were among the 70 contacts being monitored and investigated for any symptoms of the disease by the state government and other partners.The commissioner, who said the two cases were under observation, however stressed that they did not test positive to the virus.Idris said the state government would continue to monitor all contacts with the victims until the end of the 21 incubation day period of the virus.“Our Rapid Response Team is currently tracking all contacts of persons exposed to the dead passenger with Ebola virus.“The contract tracing team is following 70 contacts of the EVD case and linking them to clinical support when needed.“Two suspect cases had fever, they are under observation and so far have tested negative to the virus.“The monitoring of suspect cases will continue until the end of the period of 21 days from their exposure to the victim,’’ he said.