Ebola: Lagos disabuses use of substandard equipments

Oluremilekun Osobu-Asubiojo

The Lagos government has decried allegations that substandard Personnel Protective Equipment (PPEs) are being used at facilities set up to accommodate Ebola Virus Disease victims in the state.

Addressing newsmen at Alausa, Ikeja on Friday, state Commissioner for Health, Dr Jide Idris, said the rumours were “outright lies”.

“I make bold to say ‎that this is outrightly false as these Pandemic Level III PPES are the same ones also being used by our international partners without objections,” he said.

Lamenting a shortage of experts, Idris said, ” our major challenge in this regard is personnel with requisite expertise,” adding that experts in different medical fields including critical care and infectious diseases.

He, however, said the state government had received some responses from prospective volunteers in the public health sector which are being considered,” guaranteed those involved of adequate training, safety and incentives.‎

The commissioner also confirmed that, First Consultant Hospital, the clinic where the index Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) case in Nigeria was admitted, is set to be reopened.
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According to him, the reopening was following three rounds of state certified decontamination process.

He also said “with the detection of a confirmed case at NNPC Clinic, the facility was shut down to also facilitate the decontamination process‎” and that 25 patients and health workers at the clinic when the case was detected were currently under surveillance.

The commissioner also reacted to rumours making the rounds that the facility had no basic amenities. He said a 40-bed complex with male and female wards had been established for confirmed cases; an eight-bed isolation ward had been upgraded to hold suspected cases backed up by two emergency tents to hold additional 24 suspected cases.

He stated that dedicated boreholes; 60KVA generator backed up by a 250KVA unit for the entire complex, two 5000 litre septic tanks (each one for urine and faeces)‎ were on ground, as well as a space for LAWMA to dispose medical waste.

He also confirmed as at Friday, only four people including the index case have died in Nigeria. “Cummulatively, there are eleven confirmed cased (including the imported case) and one suspect case. The suspect cases are awaiting the results of confirmatory tests to inform the next line of action.”

He added that eight cases, who are all primary contacts of the index case, were in facilities in Mainland Hospital, Yaba.

“Two of the confirmed cases, the ECOWAS protocol officer and a nurse, passed on during the week, bringing the total number of deaths to four, two of which are health workers,” Idris said.

Thanking the Federal government for technical support so far, the commissioner, however, noted that Lagos State has received no cash funds from the federal government since the advent of the EVD in the state.

He further said a team of 60 screening personnel and a cumulative total of 242 contacts had been screened and tracked. “61 of these have been cleared and discharged on completion of the 21-day surveillance and follow up.”