There was panic in Makurdi, the Benue state when news filtered in that three indigenes of the state who arrived from the Ebola-torn country of Liberia have been placed in a separate room at the Benue State University Teaching Hospital (BSUTH) Makurdi for observation over the disease.
As the news filtered to the capital city of Makurdi late Sunday evening, palpable fear gripped the people of the state as residents made calls to relatives and friends to alert them on the presence of suspected victims of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in the state.
The development left most drinking and food joints as well as public places deserted as rumors gained grounds while many continued to add their own different versions to the story.
However, Chief Medical Director (CMD) of BSUTH, Professor Orkugar Malu has dispelled rumors that some Benue indigenes from Monrovia, Liberia are victims of the deadly Ebola Virus Disease, EVD.
Malu who had to go on air early Monday morning to dispel the rumour and later spoke with newsmen in his office yesterday, said two indigenes of the state, a man and his wife who were on missionary journey to Liberia had to return home when the Ebola epidemic became serious in that country.
He stated further that the couple who had been tested at every point right from Monrovia, capital city of Liberia, to Accra in Ghana and Abuja was negative.
The CMD noted that on arrival in Makurdi, the state had to keep them and the driver who drove them from Abuja to Makurdi in an isolation ward at the Teaching Hospital as a precautionary measure to observe them and further ensure that they are free from the dreaded viral disease.
Prof. Malu explained that the indigenes who had been resident in Monrovia for just a year as missionary workers, quickly relocated from Liberia in the wake of the Ebola outbreak.
“Since some airlines have stopped operations to Liberia, the couple had to take flight to Accra in Ghana where they stayed for a week before traveling to Nigeria.”
“They have not shown any symptoms of the disease because at every stage their temperature was tested right from Monrovia before they boarded the plane to Ghana and then Nigeria. Since they came in here on Thursday, we have been testing them on a daily basis and there is no evidence of temperature or any of the symptoms of the Ebola Virus Disease.”
“We are 99.999% sure that they do not have Ebola virus. But just in the remotest case of 0.1%, we have kept them to fulfill everything there is to be done to ensure they do not have the disease”, he said
The CMD boasted that the hospital has adequate facility to cater for any victim of the disease and urged the people not to panic.