Ebola Scare In OAU Ile- Ife As Female Student Is Quarantined

A female student of the Obafemi Awolowo University(OAU), Ile-Ife has been moved to Lagos for Ebola Virus screening.This was contained in a statement by the Public Relations of the university, Mr. Abiodun Olanrewaju late on Tuesday. According to the statement, "A female student of the OAU, Ile-Ife who is suspected to be a secondary contact of the Ebola Virus Disease in Port-Harcourt, presented sick at the University Health Centre. After a clinical assessment by the Ebola Surveillance Preparedness and Response Committee of the University, the authorities
thereafter contacted the State Ministry of Health, the Federal Ministry of Health and the World Health Organisation(WHO). The female suspected secondary Ebola contact has since been evacuated to the appropriate facility in Lagos for further investigations to confirm her status."
Though not confirmed if it's an Ebola case yet, Olanrewaju said appropriate preventive and protective measures have been taken as he added that, "In the meantime, the National team and the World Health Organisation team on Ebola Control have promptly decontaminated the University Health Centre despite the fact that the case is yet to be confirmed. The University authorities wish to emphasise the fact that the case is not a confirmed case of Ebola Virus Disease and therefore request all members of the University Community to remain calm as the situation is fully under control."  Going by reports, a student of the university, who pleaded anonymity, said the female student who recently returned from Port Harcourt, was, in the early hours of Tuesday, rushed to the university's health centre from where he was referred to the OAUTHC. The scare disrupted academics and social activities at OAU yesterday, while the university PRO has allayed fear of the university community and the entire Ile-Ife town, charging them not to fear over the development.
In a related development, the Oyo State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Temitope Ilori had spoken before the university's statement that, "I was told that a student of the OAU who had contact with the doctor who died of the Ebola virus in Port Harcourt walked into the health centre when she was sick. She was said to have told doctors at the health centre that she had contact with the Port Harcourt doctor and was put under surveillance but she said she tested negative that time. Now she returned to the OAU to continue with her studies and was sick. She was said to have walked to the health centre and told them everything about her contact with the doctor. Her blood sample has been taken for another test in Lagos and we are awaiting the result. We pray she is not positive but she has been isolated at the health centre."
Olayemi Esan at Wednesday, September 10, 2014