Premium Health Managing Director, Ladi Okuboyejo, says handling Ebola virus epidemic is beyond Nigeria and has advised the country to seek help from the international community.
Okuboyejo, a consultant physician, wants the United States and other countries with medical knowledge of the disease as well as the International Red Cross Society come to the aid of Nigeria.
“While a few victims have passed on as a result of the virus, there is need for international intervention to halt the likely spread of the disease as the situation is beyond what the country can deal with presently,” he canvassed.
He said the federal government is trying its best but since the country is new to the disease, coupled with the fact that a foreigner brought it, the international community should intervene to save Nigerians.
Those under quarantine are critically ill and unless help comes quickly the disease may spread, he warned.
“Two Americans were flown to Atlanta for help. The chap who brought this thing to Nigeria was an American. Our question is, what is the international community doing for us? What are they doing to help the situation because this is beyond what we can cope with,” Okuboyejo added.
“For example, do the patients under quarantine have even water? Do we have the facilities to cope with this? It is a big question mark.”
He commended the personnel at First Consultants Medical Centre, Obalende, Lagos, who made the case public after confirming that Sawyer died of Ebola.
He urged Nigeria to reflect on how it got into the problem because “this disease is new to us in the country and we have never been involved in containing this kind of outbreak.
“There is need for the international community to assist Nigeria in helping to halt the likely spread of the disease.”
By Friday, August 15, the death toll in West Africa had hit 1,069. Yet, the World Health Organisation (WHO)said the scale of the Ebola outbreak appears to be “vastly underestimated.”
WHO said “extra ordinary measures” should be taken to curtail the spread of the virus.