Fear gripped students, parents and staff of the Obafemi Awolowo
University, Ile-Ife on Tuesday over the report that a patient on
admission at the OAU Health Centre was a suspected Ebola Virus victim.
The Oyo State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Temitope Ilori, said the sick
student had confessed that she had contact with the late Port Harcourt
doctor, Iyke Enemuo, who died of Ebola after he secretly treated an
infected ECOWAS diplomat, Olu-Ibukun Koye, in a hotel in Rivers State.
The commissioner confirmed that the female student has been quarantined:
“I was told that a student of the OAU who had contact with the doctor
who died of the Ebola virus in Port Harcourt walked into the health
centre when she was sick...
“She was said to have told doctors at the health centre that she had
contact with the Port Harcourt doctor and was put under surveillance but
she said she tested negative that time.
“Now she returned to the OAU to continue with her studies and was sick.
She was said to have walked to the health centre and told them
everything about her contact with the doctor.
“Her blood sample has been taken for another test in Lagos and we are
awaiting the result. We pray she is not positive but she has been
isolated at the health centre.”
When Punch visited the hospital on Tuesday, it was observed that health
officials were disinfecting the entire surroundings of the medical
centre and more attention was paid to places where patients sit.
It was also learnt that top officials of the hospital held an emergency
meeting after testing the suspected patient, who was said to have been
on admission in the hospital since Monday.
One of the officials said the suspected patient would be made to go
through an intensive examination on Wednesday by the EVD team from
Lagos.