An experimental drug for treatment of Ebola has been provided by a
Nigerian in diaspora and will arrive the country today, Health
Minister
Onyebuchi Chukwu, has said.
Also, he said a nurse who was under observation in Lagos but fled to Enugu has been brought back to Lagos.
Online news portal, TheCable, reports that the drug, called
“Nanosilver”, can now be used following the approval by the World Health
Organisation (WHO) that experimental treatments are ethical in the case
of the Ebola pandemic.
The Nigerian government authorised the use
of experimental drugs on Wednesday. The US sent ZMapp, another
experimental drug, to Liberia on Wednesday, while Canada has decided to
donate 1,000 vaccines to the affected countries.
According to
Chukwu, the experimental drug is a donation from a Nigerian scientist
who was concerned about the threat of Ebola in his home country. “The
drug will reach Nigeria today,” he said.
Chukwu disclosed that the
169 secondary contacts were still under surveillance, while in all 11
Ebola cases had been recorded, including the index case, Patrick Sawyer,
and the two Nigerians who died of the disease.
“Some of the people under surveillance have completed the 21 days incubation period, and we have to let them go,” he said.
The minister said the nurse, who is a primary contact, who had
travelled to Enugu had not developed the symptoms as of the time of her
trip, dispelling fears that she might have infected other people.
“In
Enugu yesterday, there were 21 secondary contacts with the nurse, but
after investigations, there are only six secondary contacts now,” he
stated.
“The nurse who is newly-wedded had no symptoms of the
disease when she travelled to Enugu, and while coming back to Lagos she
travelled in a special ambulance with her husband. Her husband is under
quarantine now.”
Chukwu maintained that only Lagos state has recorded Ebola cases.
Source: PM News
No comments:
Post a Comment