There was panic in Makurdi, the Benue
state capital weekend when news filtered in
that three indigenes of the state who
arrived from the Ebola torn country of
Liberia have been placed in a separate
room at the Benue State Teaching Hospital
(BSUTH) Makurdi for observation over the
disease.
Daily Sun gathered that as soon as the
news filtered to the capital city of Makurdi
late Sunday evening, palpable fear gripped
the people of the state as residents who
made calls to relatives and friends to alert
them on the presence of suspected victims
of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in the state.
The development left most drinking and
food joints as well as public places
deserted as rumors gained ground while
many continued to add their own different
versions to the story.
However, Chief Medical Director, (CMD) of
BSUTH, Professor Orkugar Malu has
dispelled rumors that some Benue indigenes
from Monrovia, Liberia are victims of the
deadly Ebola virus Disease, EVD.
Malu who had to go on air early Monday
morning to dispel the rumour and later
spoke with newsmen in his office yesterday,
said two indigenes of the state, a man and
his wife who were on missionary journey to
Liberia had to return home when the Ebola
epidemic became serious in that country.
He stated further that the couple who had
been tested at every point right from
Monrovia, capital city of Liberia to Accra in
Ghana and Abuja was negative.
The CMD noted that on arrival in Makurdi,
the state had to keep them and the driver
who drove them from Abuja to Makurdi in
an isolation ward at the Teaching hospital
as a precautionary measure to observe
them and further ensure that they are free
from the dreaded viral disease.
Prof. Malu explained that the indigenes who
had been resident in Monrovia for just a
year as missionary workers, quickly
relocated from Liberia in the wake of the
Ebola outbreak .
“Since some airlines have stopped
operations to Liberia, the couple had to
take flight to Accra in Ghana where they
stayed for a week before traveling to
Nigeria.”
“They have not shown any symptoms of
the disease because at every stage their
temperature was tested right from Monrovia
before they boarded the plane to Ghana and
then Nigeria. Since they came in here on
Thursday, we have been testing them on a
daily basis and there is no evidence of
temperature or any of the symptoms of the
Ebola Viral Disease.”
“We are 99.999% sure that they do not
have Ebola virus. But just in the remotest
case of 0.0%, we have kept them to fulfill
everything there is to be done to ensure
they do not have the disease”, he said
The CMD boasted that the hospital has
adequate facility to cater for any victim of
the disease and urged the people not to
panic.