• Records first survivor
From Emmanuel Uzor, Abakaliki
For many years, the dreaded Lassa fever disease has held Ebonyi State to ransom and sent many of its citizens to their early graves. Little or no action was taken against this scourge by previous administrations in the state, but Governor Dave Umahi seems to be singing a new song of victory against the disease.
Though it may not have been completely defeated, Umahi recently rolled out drums to celebrate the near conquest of the diseases following the construction, completion and commissioning of the Lassa Fever and Virology Centre to tackle the incessant outbreak of the deadly disease.
The preponderance of the dreaded Lassa fever virus led to the construction of the N250 million ultra-modern virogy centre commissioned by the Minister of Health, Prof Isaac Adewole, on September 5, 2016. Umahi said his administration had been pushed too far by the intermittent outbreak of Lassa fever, adding that he has been pushed to the wall to react and fight the scourge.
Daily Sun gathered that the centre recently recorded the first ever survivor of Lassa fever disease.
Victor Ifeanyi Ibekwe who hails from Ezza-Effium in Ohaukwu Local Government Area became the first person to survive the deadly disease since the commissioning of the virology centre in 2016.
Victor, according to his mother, Mrs. Cecilia Ibekwe, a widow, took ill about one month ago and was rushed to the Federal Teaching Hospital, FETHA 2, Abakaliki, where they could not get medical attention as a result of the doctors’ strike. They were forced to seek help in a private hospital, in Abakaliki.
Ibekwe’s words: “Victor started complaining of severe headache. I sent one of his siblings to go and buy paracetamol, which he took and the thing continued. I became afraid because since I lost his father, he has been the source of strength to me. I noticed he was very weak to go to work until he started behaving strangely and demanded that we take him to the hospital.
“When we got to FETHA 2, we were told that doctors were on strike so we rushed to Christ the King Hospital where medication was given to him to no avail. I noticed that a particular doctor after examining him hurriedly wrote that he should be moved immediately to FETHA and instructed that before we could get there, doctors would have resumed work. I got more confused when we were taken straight into a new building which I did not know when it was built. It was there that they confirmed that Victor had Lassa fever.”
IIbekwe could not control her emotion as she punctuated the interview with tears: “A particular doctor kept telling me to keep on praying. He told me that Victor was going to pass through three stages, which would determine his survival. The first stage was when he was injected with a certain drug that got his head and all his body swollen like an elephant. I thought I had lost him but the next stage followed another injection that almost made him mad. I thank God he also survived the stage till the last one.”
When Daily Sun visited the Lassa fever ward where Victor was being treated, he was seen already recovering as he was eating normally and was able to stand up from his bed. Though a doctor on duty who did not want his name in print confirmed that Victor was strong, he also disclosed that he was running short of blood as his blood unit was only 20 per cent. He said he would need at least three units of blood.
Recuperating Victor commended Umahi for building the centre, which he said was an instrument in God’s hand to save his life: “If we had wasted more hours, I would have been a dead man by now.”
Umahi had said his administration was moved to purchase four ambulances and four dialysis machines, both to be stationed in each of the designated hospitals in the three senatorial zones and a hospital within the state capital, to ensure adequate and prompt action against the spread of the virus:
“And I directed that emergency building or caravan should be constructed. It is not good to allow any suspected Lassa fever patient to go to our general hospital or primary health care centre because it could further spread and that is why we built the centre to isolate any case identified through advocacy campaign.
“We also approved another four sets of dialysis machines apart from the other equipment associated with Lassa fever approved for the centre. One of the dialysis machines is in the hospital here (Lassa fever centre), and one in each zone in the hospital of your choice. So, on the whole we are spending close to N250 million to attack Lassa fever. About N64 million was used to build the mini-hospital and the lab. We equipped it with modern equipment.”
Umahi lauded the efforts of the management and staff of the FETHA under the leadership of the Chief Medical Director, CMD, Dr Emeka Ogah, and the special committee set up by his administration headed by the Secretary to State Government (SSG), Prof Ben Odoh, for their sincerity and commitment in the fight against the virus.
Ogah commended the governor for coming to their aid: “We had reported and complained countless times to past administrations on the need for Lassa fever lab centre in the state, especially in 2005 when so many of our staff and patients died of the disease to no avail”.
He said a lot of people both natives and non-natives died of the disease in the state, which would not have been so, if they were given prompt diagnoses and treatment. He said the essence of the virology lab was for prompt analysis of suspected Lassa fever case and for them to proffer solution by way of treatment without endangering the lives of other patients and medical health workers:
“Currently, the nearest virology diagnostic centre is at the Specialist Hospital in Irua, Edo State, where the health workers infected with Lassa fever in Ebonyi were treated. Driving to Irua is five hours non-stop and we had to transport patients in critical condition that far.”
Chairman of the special committee on Lassa fever and SSG, Prof Odoh thanked Umahi for his leadership style and for giving them the encouragement and logistics to carry out the assignment, which he said turned out to be a blessing to the people who were at the danger list of the disease.
Commissioner for Health, Dr. Daniel Umezuruike, attributed the new development to the foresightedness of Umahi in building the centre which he said would help the state government and other nearby states to fight collectively against the Lassa fever virus.
He said the ministry initiated workable plans to end the scourge through maintaince of already existing health centres and fortifying the health centres. He expressed optimism that with the virology lab in place the issue of Lassa fever would soon be curtailed.