Nigeria Ambassador, 58 Others Had Contact with Ebola Victim (plane passengers not included)

PM News (Nigeria) ^ | Monday, July 28, 2014 | Kazeem Ugbodaga

[kristinn]

Nigeria Ambassador to Liberia, Chigozie Obi-Nnadozie and 58 others have contact with, Patrick Sawyer, the victim of Ebola Virus Disease, EVD, who died in Lagos last Thursday, says the Lagos State Government.

At a news conference on Monday 27 July at the Lagos State Government Secretariat in Alausa, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria, Lagos Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris disclosed that 59 people had contact with the late Sawyer, which include the Nigerian Ambassador to Laberia.

“So far, a total of 59 contacts have been registered consisting 44 hospital contacts (38 healthcare workers and six laboratory staff) and 15 Airport contacts, comprising 3 ECOWAS staff-driver, Liaison, and Protocol officer, Nigerian Ambassador to Monrovia, two nursing staff and five Airport passenger handlers.

“As of the time of this report, 20 contacts had been physically screened of which 50% are type 1 contact and 50% had had type 2 contact. Airline manifest has not been provided by the airline at the time of this report and therefore the precise number of passenger contacts is yet to be ascertained, especially as two flights were involved (Monrovia-Lome and Lome-Lagos),” he disclosed.

On case management, infection prevention and control, Idris said an isolation ward had been designated by the Lagos State Ministry of Health at the Infectious Disease Hospital, Yaba for case management, adding that the designation of three other health facilities was underway.

“A total of 100 Personal Protective Equipment, PPE, were procured by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC and the Federal Ministry of Health, FMOH have been distributed to the private hospital and the State Ministry of Health. WHO also donated 250 PPEs to the NCDC/FMOH.

“Adhering strictly to WHO guidelines, the body of the deceased patient was decontaminated using 10% sodium hypochlorite and cremated, with the permission of the government of Liberia. A cremation urn has been prepared for dispatch to the family. The vehicle that conveyed the remains was also fully decontaminated,” he stated.

According to Idris, government could categorically state that as of today only one case of imported Ebola and one death had been recorded in Lagos, saying that no Nigerian had been infected, but that all contacts were being actively followed.

“We call on all Nigerians to be calm and not panic and do hereby assure them that both the State and Federal Governments are up in arms to ensure that the virus did not escape and that no Nigeria is infected with this virus,” he assured.

He said preliminary laboratory investigation conducted by the NCDC AI virology laboratory of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital and the World-Bank Funded African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases (ACEGID) Redeemers’ University, detected viral DNA and that in both blood and urine samples obtained from the patient were positive for the Pan Filo virus analysis and Ebola Zaire MGB virus strain- specific analysis, adding that samples were also collected for further confirmation at the WHO Collaborating laboratory for Ebola in Dakar.

On the 40-year old Liberian vidtim, Idris said he arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos from Monrovia via Lome on Asky Airline Flight No KP50, on his way to Calabar for the 8th ECOWAS Retreat of Heads of Offices meeting, as a senior ECOWAS official in Liberia.

He stated that his plane was reported to have had a brief stop in Accra and Lome, and the aircraft was changed at Lome, explaining that he was also reported to have fallen ill while on board and remained very ill on arrival at the airport in Lagos as he was then assisted by various airport and ECOWAS protocol staff to a private hospital named First Consultant Medical Centre, Obalende, in Lagos.

“An initial diagnosis of suspected Viral Haemorrhagic fever was made. He was admitted and investigations were carried and supportive treatment was commenced. The private hospital immediately notified the State Ministry of Health who also notified the Federal Ministry of Health. The patient however died at about 6.50am on the 25th July 2014,” he explained.

Idris disclosed that the Joint Federal and State Team on the basis of all experiences gathered from the response to this outbreak recommended to mobilize funding for response activities, logistics and supplies; train and orientate health staff on the Ebola outbreak response Standards Operating Procedures and supply laboratory diagnostic supplies or activate the mobile VHF laboratory.

Other recommendations, he said, were to provide adequate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), organize psychosocial support and provide incentives to health personnel involved in Ebola outbreak response, design key messages in the local language and intensify public enlightenment in the local languages and involve the community in response activities.

[Travis McGee]

This will be an interesting month for observing folks with flu symptoms in Nigeria.

[Travis McGee]

When ebola was a 90% mort rate bug, it didn’t travel well, and often burned out in a tight ring of death around it’s origination point.

When and if it mutates into a 20% mort rate bug and is a little tougher, able to ride on a sneeze, we’re going to have a REAL BIG PROBLEM.

[Political Junkie Too]

Murtala Muhammed International Airport

People get packed pretty close in at that airport, too.

-PJ

[Black Agnes]

I’ve wondered about mosquito or other biting insect transmission as well. Perhaps the pool of infected human blood hasn’t been large enough, yet, to facilitate its transmission by insect.

[Travis McGee]

Or maybe mosquito transmissions have been missed, the sick/dead done in by a wrongly diagnosed vector?

[Black Agnes]

I’ve wondered how the US physician was infected.

Either he got tired, which is entirely possible given the circumstances, and made a mistake. Or someone tasked with decontamination made a mistake. Or he had transmission via a previously unknown vector.

I’m leaning the first or second one. For now.

[Chgogal]

http://www.newsweek.com/ebola-outbreak-strikes-down-doctors-local-residents-fear-health-workers-261630

Dr. Kent Brantly is still alive. Patrick Sawyer collapsed at the Lagos airport after debarking a flight that also stopped in Togo.

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2014/07/28/2nd-american-infected-with-ebola-amid-fears-outbreak-spread-to-african-megacity/

[Chgogal]

Hey nothing to worry about folks!!!! /s

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/07/28/ebola-potential-to-spread/13267909/

Yet while Ebola is a fearsome disease, the virus “would not pose a major public health risk” in the USA, Osterholm says.

[Black Agnes]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_West_Africa_Ebola_outbreak

Scroll for infection numbers. Note the inflection point in late April/early May. That’s roughly when rainy season begins there. Also known as mosquito season...

[Mad Dawgg]

"I’ve wondered how the US physician was infected.

Either he got tired, which is entirely possible given the circumstances, and made a mistake. Or someone tasked with decontamination made a mistake. Or he had transmission via a previously unknown vector.

or, he was targeted by someone who either had a beef with him OR someone trying to spread the disease and panic the world...

[Black Agnes]

Ugly stuff regardless.

[Black Agnes]

BTW, the US physician’s BIL was due to get married this coming weekend. The doc’s family had already arrived back in country to help. If his symptoms had been delayed just a few more days he could have exposed everyone at the wedding.

Scary thought.

[Mad Dawgg]

"Scary thought."

I am thinking of all the passengers on the plane. The one who had the guy on it that collapsed inside the airport after he got off.

Did they get to all those people that were on the plane or did they disperse and get on other planes?

Did any fly to Mexico? Are there people with this scary ass disease walking North toward our borders right now?

[Black Agnes]

Oh yeah, those too.

Scary scary scary.

Here’s a link that will inspire ‘confidence’ that the situation is completely in control:

http://www.mydailynewswatchng.com/ebola-victims-death-fg-lagos-launch-manhunt-co-passengers/

“According to sources in the Federal Ministry of Health, the Nigerian co-passengers of the late Ebola victim were supposed to be quarantined for thorough investigations, based on an order placed by the Federal Government, but no sooner had the news broken out, than the suspected victims of the deadly virus took to their heels, after having been contacted by officials of the ministry.

This prompted the Federal Government, in conjunction with the authorities in Lagos, to take the latest action and launch the manhunt, categorising the alleged escapees as fugitives.

Further investigations by Sunday Newswatch revealed that among them are two notable Nigerians, who live on a street in a vicinity categorised among the upper-end areas in Lagos.”

[Smokin' Joe]

Ping...

[null and void]

At least he's safe.

He has diplomatic immunity...

Bring Out Your Dead

Post to me or FReep mail to be on/off the Bring Out Your Dead ping list.

The purpose of the “Bring Out Your Dead” ping list (formerly the “Ebola” ping list) is very early warning of emerging pandemics, as such it has a high false positive rate.

So far the false positive rate is 100%.

At some point we may well have a high mortality pandemic, and likely as not the “Bring Out Your Dead” threads will miss the beginning entirely.

*sigh* Such is life, and death...

[machogirl]

Lord this gets worse and worse. As always, thanks for the ping!

[Bigg Red]

He has diplomatic immunity...

***
Good one!

[Bigg Red]

I think that Obama and his entire cabinet should visit this man as a show of compassion.

[Bigg Red]

Yikes! Now, you are really scaring me, Agnes. Prayers up.