According to a number of disturbing reports, hospitals in Lagos have been sending away people who present symptoms of the Ebola virus.
The disease, which is highly contagious in its later stages, was brought into the country by Late Liberian, Patrick Sawyer and it has since spread.
Eagle Online reported that a female, who was suspected to have the disease, showed up at the General Hospital in the Oke-Odo, Agege area of the state but was instantly chased away by the nurses.
The woman was said to be frail looking and was reportedly bleeding from her nose and mouth. Patients in advanced stages of the disease are known to hemorrhage before dying.
The lady in question was said to have been redirected to the Yaba isolation center but no measures were taken to ensure that she didn’t come in contact with any other persons on her way there.
She wasn’t offered any assistance and it was not clear if she would head to the isolation center as instructed.
This report was also corroborated by the Sun News which said that the alarm raised by the nurses led to commotion in the area.
The News Agency Of Nigeria has also reported that patients with fever are being rejected by private hospitals in the state.
Dr. Francis Ojini, a neurologist at Jaycee Hospital is said to have told NAN that the hospital did not attend to patients with fever because health workers were at greater risk of contracting the virus.
He said:
โFor now, any illness that has to do with fever is not being attended to as we are trying to be careful because of the new development of the Ebola disease.”
The best way to stop the spread of the Ebola virus, which has no cure, is to ensure that those who are infected are quarantined and kept from infecting other people.
