Ebola: Health Commissioner Appears Before Assembly, Today …As Germany Quarantines Suspected Nigerian Ebola Patient

The Rivers State House of Assembly on Monday resolved to summon the Commissioner for Health, Dr Sampson Parker to appear before it today to explain the measures taken so far to prevent the outbreak of the deadly Ebola disease in Rivers State.
The House took the decision after the Deputy Leader of the House, Hon Robinson Nname Ewor presented a motion to the House.
Hon Ewor while presenting the motion, said it was important that the Commissioner of Health appears to the floor of the House to explain measures and steps by the ministry to prevent the deadly disease in the state.
While presenting the motion, the lawmaker said Mr Patrick Sawyer, a Liberian died due to the virus in Lagos, adding that some other persons who had contact with him at the airport and hospital where he was attended also contacted the virus.
According to him, ‘’Lagos is the hub of business in Nigeria and Africa. Some of these persons said to have contacted the disease may have moved out of Lagos to other states.”
He argued that it was important for the state and the local governments to be wary of the disease, adding that it is also imperative to put measures in place to prevent it before it spreads.
‘’The disease has no known cure up to date and has recorded over a 1,000 deaths in West Africa and capable of wiping out a whole nation. These were facts made available by the Federal Ministry of Health and World Health Organisation (WHO). It is well known that the only preventive measure is to educate and put the people on know by doing proper enlightenment campaigns’’, he said.
He noted that it is in the character of the House to respond to the yearnings and aspirations of the people.
‘’As a responsible House, it would be nice to put preventive measures to avoid the outbreak of the disease in the state, and in the event of an outbreak, put measures in place to contain it. We must carry out enough enlightenment campaign to educate the people and foreigners about the general character of the disease’’, he further noted.
Hon Ewor, however, in the motion requested that the health commissioner be invited to the House to inform the members and the people the status of the state as it concerns Ebola virus, and to ascertain from the commissioner measures put in place to prevent the disease, and in event of the outbreak, how prepared the Ministry of Health is to contain the virus.
However, the Speaker, Rt. Hon Otelemaba Dan- Amachree directed the Clerk of the House to communicate to the Commissioner, Hon Parker to appear before the House to educate the members and people of the state on measures put in place to tackle the deadly disease.
Menwhile, German health authorities yesterday took to hospital and quarantined a 30-year-old West African woman who showed symptoms consistent with the deadly Ebola disease.
Dozens of other visitors and staff at a Berlin employment office building were also stopped from leaving for several hours as emergency services sealed off part of the street.
The mass-circulation, Bild daily said the woman had fainted, that she hailed from Nigeria and that she said later that she had recently been in contact with people infected with Ebola.
Several people who had been with the woman inside the building in the north-eastern district of Prenzlauer Berg were later also taken to hospital for testing.
Berlin fire department spokesman, Rolf Erbe, said that because the patient came from “an area affected by a highly contagious disease, we took these precautions.”
He said the testing in the city’s Charite hospital would take some time.
“The patient was isolated inside the ambulance, the staff took the appropriate protective measures. An emergency medic, the public health officer, arrived and the necessary precautions were taken,” he added.
West Africa’s Ebola epidemic, which has hit four nations since it broke out in Guinea early this year, is by far the deadliest since the virus was discovered four decades ago in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The World Health Organization said yesterday that the Ebola virus had killed 84 people in just three days, bringing the global death toll to 1,229, while confirmed, probable and suspect infections rose to 2,240.
Similary, President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday paid glowing tribute to medical officers who recently treated the late American-Liberian, Patrick Sawyer, and in the process got infected with the dreaded Ebola virus disease.
While commiserating with the families of those who paid the supreme price in the process, the President promised that his administration would ensure that those still alive get the best medical attention.
Jonathan, who was represented by Vice President Namadi Sambo, made the remarks at an event held inside the Presidential Villa, Abuja, to Mark the World Humanitarian Day.
The event with the theme “More people than ever before need our help” was organised by the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons and the National Emergency Management Agency.
He commended the medical personnel, who he said, risked their lives in the process of trying to assist the deceased.
“I want to use this occasion to salute the courage of these medical personnel and condole with the families of those that lost their lives. Government is doing everything possible to ensure that those still alive get the best medical attention while praying to God to save their lives,” the President said.
Jonathan also regretted that many humanitarian workers had become targets of violent attacks, despite the passion with which they carry out their duties.
He said in the last 10 years, the number of attacks on humanitarian workers had tripled, according to the statistics available to him.
He regretted that while those in need desperately require help, ability to reach out to them was sadly increasingly challenging and at risk.
The President said, “Humanitarian workers have no other agenda than saving lives and delivering the basic necessities of life which include food, water, shelter, medical care and protection for the most vulnerable.
“In spite of their passion to save lives, humanitarian workers have sometimes become targets of hostilities in the cause of discharging their duty.
“Violent attacks on humanitarian personnel are increasingly becoming more frequent and brutal. In the last decade, the number of attacks on them has tripled, resulting in more than 100 deaths annually.
“I want to assure you that government will continue to support policies and programmes that promote humanitarian activities in the country and we are very proud of your achievements by excelling to one of the best organised organisations in Africa.”

L-R: Lagos District Manager, Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Mr Akin Osinowo, Managing Director of NRC, Mr Adeseyi Sijuwade and Chairman, NRC Board of Directors, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, during the visit of the NRC Chairman to Cabin 3, Iddo and Apapa Stations in Lagos last Sunday.