The University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH) has quarantined 15 contact persons, including nurses and doctors, till it is able to ascertain whether or not a patient who died after being treated in the hospital did not die of the dreaded Ebola virus disease.
In a bid to calm Calabar residents’ disquiet and anxiety over the patient’s death, news about which has spread throughout the Metropolis, the management of UCTH addressed a press briefing with the media on Thursday.
Dr. Queeneth Kalu, Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee of UCTH, admitted that the hospital had treated a patient with symptoms similar to haemorrhagic fever.
“On Wednesday, 7th of October, 2015, we managed a patient who had symptoms mimicking viral haemorrhagic fever,” Dr. Kalu said, speaking on behalf of the Chief Medical Director, Dr. Agan.
In order to avoid the spread of the uncertain ailment, she said, UCTH has quarantined 15 persons who included doctors and nurses.
However, the rumour mill said the patient died of ailment whose symptoms are similar to ebola virus.
Meanwhile, the hospital lacks the equipment to carry out a comprehensive diagnosis of Ebola. Therefore, it has sent the samples to University of Benin Teaching Hospital for testing.
“Due to the remote chance of it being contagious, we have sent blood samples for testing at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital and quarantined the identified contacts,” Dr. Kalu said.
She assured the general public that further information will be made available as soon as the result of the sample test is received.
Simultaneously, the management of the UCTH has alerted national and state medical institutions as well as security agencies.
World Health Organisation (WHO) declared Nigeria Ebola-free on October 20, last year after the index case, a Liberian diplomat entered the country with the disease on July 20 and died five days later.
