There are fears of a possible outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus disease in Nigeria.
The indication of a return of the dreaded disease to the country came via a referral letter written by Dr. Manu Bwala, principal medical officer of the General Hospital, Biu on behalf of the Chief Medical Officer to the Federal Teaching Hospital, Gombe, Gombe State in respect of a patient, Abdullahi Mohammed.
The letter dated September 2, 2019, stated that 23-year-old Mohammed was admitted into the general hospital two days earlier with the complaints of headache, vomiting, chest pain, fever and loss of consciousness.
According to the letter, the patient came down with the symptoms after returning from a field trip to Yankari Games Reserve in Bauchi State.
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“More than three students that went together with him presented with the similar symptoms and died due to limitation of diagnostic facility,” the principal medical officer stated.
He urged the teaching hospital to take over the management of the patient for possible diagnosis and treatment, adding, “we may benefit from your feedback.”
Until a definite confirmation from diagnosis is made, it cannot be determined whether the disease contracted by Mohammed and others who went with him on the trip and had died is actually Ebola.
The symptoms that the patient and others came down with are similar to that experienced by those who got infected by the Ebola virus earlier, thus raising the fears of a possible return of the disease.
The Ebola virus, which originated from Guinea was introduced into Nigeria on July 20, 2014. An infected Liberian man, Patrick Sawyer travelled by air to Lagos and died in hospital five days later, setting off a chain of transmission that infected a total of 19 people, of whom seven died.
