The House of Representatives on Wednesday called for increased public awareness as well as early preparation of isolation camps following confirmation of a fresh outbreak in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
During a session on Wednesday, Reps members also called for alertness and asked the Federal Government to take advantage of the 2014 blueprint with which the Ebola virus was contained.
The committee on infectious disease has been mandated to immediately swing into action to ensure that the resolutions of the House are promptly carried out.
According to the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, the imported case of Ebola virus disease was confirmed by laboratory testing.
Speaking at a media briefing in Abuja, Pate said the patient is a woman with a recent travel history to East Africa, particularly Uganda, who returned to Nigeria with symptoms on October 7th, which progressed four days later before tests confirmed the infection.
He said the patient is currently in isolation and receiving medical care, and contact tracing has commenced, with forty-four contacts already identified, as surveillance is strengthened at the country’s entry points.
“The patient, a woman who recently arrived in Nigeria on an international flight from Uganda, was admitted to a private hospital… where she received care for several days before the diagnosis was confirmed,” a government statement said. “She is currently in isolation and receiving medical care.”
Pate explained that the Ministry of Health, the FCT Health Secretariat, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, and other partners are working together to contain the infection and prevent further spread.
While urging public and private health facilities to remain on high alert, stressing that health workers must maintain a high index of suspicion for possible cases, he called on Nigerians to remain calm and vigilant.
The minister advised the public to practise good hygiene, watch out for symptoms including fever, weakness, headache and diarrhoea, and cooperate with public health officials.
He maintained that the situation is being managed, with the government pledging timely and transparent updates as efforts continue to contain the virus.
Ebola spreads through direct contact with the blood or other bodily fluids of an infected person, or with contaminated materials. Symptoms can include fever, headache, severe weakness, vomiting and diarrhoea.
The post Reps Call For Early Isolation Camp Preparations To Prevent Ebola Spread appeared first on Channels Television.