50 at ‘high risk’ of contracting Ebola in PH

Fifty people in Port Harcourt have been identified as Ebola risks, Rivers state commissioner for health Dr. Tamunoiyoriari Parker, said on Sunday.

According to the commissioner, who was briefing journalists on developments on the virus, the state’s contact tracing team had identified a total of 178 people who had contact with Dr. Iyke Enemuo, the medic who died after treating an Ebola patient.

Parker said while the 50 had “high-risk exposure” to the virus, three persons had been moved to the Isolation centre in Eduoha, while late Enemuo’s wife who was earlier moved to Lagos is stable and responding to treatment.

“The UPTH Mortuary, Samstel Clinic, Mandate Hotel, Green Heart Hospital and Dr. Iyke Enemuo’s residence  have all be decontaminated, so people should not shy away from these places because they are safe now safe as a result of the decontamination,” he said.

He frowned against stigmatisation of people who have contracted the virus, saying it is not a death sentence.

“All the people who presented themselves early for treatment in Lagos have all survived,” he noted.

Parker warned church leaders and other religious organisations to desist from turning their premises to hospital wards where they lay hands on people for spiritual healing, insisting that all febrile illnesses must be reported for investigation and prompt intervention.

He added that the burial of all corpses deposited at the UPTH morgue at the same period with the late Enemuo must be carried out under the supervision of the state ministry of health, while movement of corpses around the state must be done with clearance from the ministry.