Ebola still public health emergency, says WHO

• UCTH tests samples from suspected carrier
• FG deploys medical team
• Hospital quarantines 10 nurses

THE World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that the dreaded Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) is still lurking around and countries should be on high alert.

The just concluded seventh meeting of the Emergency Committee of the global health body convened by its director-general, under the International Health Regulations (IHR) (2005) regarding the EVD outbreak in West Africa, has declared that the EVD outbreak continues to constitute a public health emergency of international concern. Representatives of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone made presentations on the current epidemiological situation in their countries, response operations and exit screening.

The meeting took place by teleconference on October 1, 2015, and by electronic correspondence from October 1 to 3, 2015.

In a statement, the committee observed that since its sixth meeting, Liberia has been declared free of EVD transmission for a second time (September 3, 2015), the overall case incidence in Guinea and Sierra Leone has been below 10 cases per week, and the Sierra Leonean capital city of Freetown has remained free of EVD transmission for over 42 days.

The committee noted the enhanced Ebola control measures being implemented in each country and reaffirmed the importance of community outreach, social mobilization, and other best practices.

However, two active chains of EVD transmission continue, one in Guinea and one in Sierra Leone. The committee highlighted that the continued identification (including post-mortem) of cases not previously registered as contacts, resistance to response operations in some areas, and the ongoing movement of cases and contacts to Ebola-free areas, all constitute risks to stopping EVD transmission in the sub-region.

Meanwhile, following the EVD scare on October 7, the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH) has sent blood samples of the suspected late patient and 15 quarantined identified contacts for testing.

A statement by the Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee (CMAC), Dr. Queeneth Kalu, on behalf of the Chief Medical Director, Dr. Thomas Agan, said: “On Wednesday, 7th of October, we managed a patient who presented with symptoms mimicking viral hemorrhagic fever. Due to the remote chance of it being contagious, we have sent blood samples for testing and quarantined identified contacts.”

Kalu, who was busy having different meetings with heads of various units in the hospital, assured that “information will be made available as soon as we receive the results of the samples sent for analysis.”

Normal activities are going on in the UCTH but it was observed that the Emergency and Accident Department is still under lock and key.