Doctors, nurses desert Port Harcourt hospital over abduction, Lassa fever

Medical personnel including doctors and nurses have continued to desert the biggest secondary healthcare centre in Rivers State, the Braithwaite Memorial Hospital (BMH), in protest over spate of abductions of doctors in Port Harcourt and in fear of Lassa fever that has killed one doctor in the BMH. Some other medical staff members that had contact with the dead doctor have been quarantined.

The situation was aggravated by a three day warning strike by doctors at the BMH same Thursday to press home their demands for the unconditional release of their two abducted colleagues after the expiration of the 48 hours ultimatum earlier issued.

The two abducted doctors were named as I. B. Akprokor (female) and Isaac Opurum, each kidnapped within two days. Aprokor was said to have been abducted on Sunday, January 10, 2016, on her way to church, while Opurum was abducted on Tuesday, January 12, 2016, after unknown gunmen broke into his residence in Port Harcourt.

So far, medical services have been temporarily suspended at BMSH due to the Lassa fever virus scare that took the life of a surgeon.

The state chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association, Furo Green, who confirmed the death of the medical doctor to the raging fever after a surgery, earlier said doctors in Rivers State were pulling out of duty after a deadline given for the release of those abducted.

Panic and fear had on Thursday caused pandemonium at the Emergency Unit of the BMH following news that a surgeon, Ehivai (Levi) Njamala from the Obstetrics and Gynecology department had died of Lassa fever. Medical practitioners now fear that they would be the first to fall victim of the raging fever after the scare of the Ebola virus of 2014.

Njamala was said to have contacted the contagious Lassa fever after a Caesarean Section he performed on a patient at the emergency unit of the hospital. He was said to have taken took ill after the CS, did not suspect he had contacted the deadly virus and called in fellow doctors who tested him positive for the Lassa fever. Green has therefore warned those who are still in doubts that the deadly Lassa fever epidemic is in Rivers state, saying doctors, patients and their families had 80 percent risk factor.

BusinessDay gathered that the BMH took samples from the hospital for further analysis at a specialist hospital for the treatment of Lassa fever virus in Irrua, Edo state, but by the time they could ascertain the cause of the sickness, the doctor had died.

So far, patients and medical personnel of the hospital have been hurriedly discharged under the supervision the World Health Organization, Rivers State Ministry of Health and Federal Ministry of Health while the BMH was also undergoing decontamination by the WHO officials.

Reports indicated that the federal government has commenced the tracing of the whereabouts of about 35 persons that were believed to have come in contact with a patient that died as a result of Lassa fever. Lassa fever has killed 43 people in 10 states across Nigeria.