By Stanley Onyekwere
The result of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) medical investigation on a suspected patient who died on admission at Asokoro District hospital, Abuja last Friday, tested negative, the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has said.
This was disclosed yesterday by the Head, Public Relations Unit, Health and Human Services Secretariat (HHSS) of FCTA, Mr. Badaru Yakassai, during a telephone interview.
This is coming rarely twenty four hours after widely reported suspected manifestation of Ebola symptoms in the diseased patient, who died a day after been admitted at the hospital.
Peoples Daily recalls that the FCT Administration through its Health and Human Services Secretariat (HHSS) had in a press release confirmed that deceased’s blood sample was then taken to the designated FCT Ebola testing laboratory, which happens to be within the Hospital (Asokoro) premises.
It said that the late suspected Ebola patient was on admission at the Accident and Emergency unit, of the Family Medicine unit of Asokoro hospital, leading to the compilation of a list of all Medical staff that had come into contact with the patient, and were set under surveillance.
Announcing the result, the spokesperson of the Secretariat, who spoke with our correspondent on phone simply said; “I’m glad to inform you that this morning that we received the result of the suspected Ebola case at the Asokoro hospital, and it tested negative, as there were no traces of the virus.”
It would be recalled that the FCT Health Secretariat in the statement disclosed that the result of the Ebola testing was being expected from the Laboratory on Monday, but as at press time, there were no information about it.
However, in discarding the possibility of the outbreak of the disease in the nation’s capital, the Health minister described the development as being speculated.
Chukwu made this known in Abuja, while answering questions from pressmen at the second emergency national council on health meeting on the EVD outbreak in the country
“The person is not a Liberian, the person is a Nigerian working for a foreign agency; “He is a sicklier, he has crisis; not an EVD.
“As of this morning (Monday), there is no single case of suspected or otherwise of EVD in the Federal Capital Territory,” he maintained.
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