As part of measures to check the spread of deadly Ebola virus disease (EVD), Enugu State government has decided to sensitise all major public institutions in the state. The state ministry of health recently took its ongoing sensitisation programme to banks, hotels and public/private institutions in the State.
Speaking at a one-day sensitisation and mobilisation meeting with managers of the institutions, George Eze, the state commissioner for health, said although the state was free of the virus, they should be serious preparations to stop the virus from spreading.
Eze however commended workers at the state ministry of health and other stakeholders in Nigeria who were able to manage the case of a lady under surveillance ran to Enugu from Lagos recently.
He recalled that when the lady developed fever, vomiting and diarrhoea in her house somewhere in Enugu, they responded swiftly with only a few personal protective equipment delivered during the Avian Flu Epidemic by the Federal Government.
He further expressed happiness that the husband of the lady guided them with his personal phone to their residence where “my brave health personnel went for the rescue.”
Eze explained the cheering news was that the lady was among seven patients who recovered and were discharged after testing negatively repeatedly at the isolation centre.
His words: “My brothers and sisters, today as we speak, Enugu is free of Ebola but the danger is not over. The debacle in Port Harcourt which is next door to us is a reminder that we are still under threat of Ebola.
“I wish to strongly emphasise that Ebola is not only a disease for state government, it is not only for the ministry of health, neither is it only for the Indigenes of Enugu State. Ebola respects no class, respects no creed, respects no industry and respects no man.
“I’m therefore calling on all captains of industries in Enugu, all you entrepreneurs and all you men of good will to join hands to prevent, fight and conquer Ebola. The way against Ebola is containment. Containment requires building human capacity that will be at the front line.”
In a lecture at the occasion, Okechukwu Ossai, the director public health, Enugu State ministry of health, advised health workers to always adhere to global safety measures in order to avoid Ebola and other diseases.
He disclosed that most people who tested positive to Ebola got it out of carelessness, explaining that the husband of the lady under surveillance who ran out from Lagos to Enugu last month tested negative to the virus because he observed all the necessary safety measures.
The managers were asked to make cleaners and regular hand washing their watch word at their various organisations.
Regis Anukwuoji
