By Sylvia Ettah
The Chief Medical Director, CMD of the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, UCTH, Dr. Paul Agan has told CrossRiverWatch that the rumor about Ebola scare in the hospital is not true and should be disregarded by the public.
Dr. Agan who is currently attending an event in Canada told our correspondent on the phone that indeed there was an incident that created some anxious moment in the hospital yesterday with a reported case of haemorrhagic fever.
“A young man was brought in from Odukpani at night on Tuesday. He was said to be weak and showing signs of haemorrhagic fever. The young man later died but the hospital has insisted that samples should be collected from him for further tests to confirm the nature of the fever.
“The samples are currently being tested in Iruan, Edo state. All the doctors and other support staff who were on duty and had contact with the patient when he was brought in to when he died have also been quarantined pending investigation of the samples we collected. For now there is no case of Ebola in UCTH and the public should disregard the rumor.
“I will be back from Canada on Tuesday but I have directed my Deputy to do a press release to clarify the rumor in the air so that the public can be accordingly carried along.” said Agan.
Checks by our reporter in the hospital premises reveal that staff and even visitors are still unsure of what to believe. While some say they hear that an Ebola case has been recorded in the hospital, others say it is not true.
Some of the doctors contacted were unwilling to comment. They directed all questions to the CMD.
One who spoke on condition of anonymity said, “It is just speculation. From what I gathered from my colleagues, the hospital is just trying to take precautionary measures after noticing signs of a haemorrhagic fever in one patient, to ensure that even if the case was Ebola, it should not be allowed to spread. In medicine, that is what we do.
“The medical staff who had contact with the patient are also being quarantined not because they have Ebola but because the hospital want to get results of the investigation first to ensure like I l said that even if it was Ebola, I should not be allow to spread. But for now, it is not true that Ebola has been recorded in UCTH. That is a lie.”
At the time of filing this report, the body of the deceased patient has been deposited at the hospital morgue.
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