The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Onyebuchi Chukwu

  • Another nurse tests positive

    Another nurse tests positive

    •177 in isolation, watch •Nigeria has 10 cases

    Health Minister Prof Onyebuchi Chukwu said yesterday Nigeria has recorded 10 cases of infected persons with the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD). Of the 10, two have died, he said.

    The dead, the minister said, are the first patient, the late Liberian-America’s Mr Patrick Sawyer, and the Lagos nurse who treated him.

    Another nurse, he said, has tested positive to the virus and was undergoing treatment.

    The minister spoke on the deadly disease and government’s efforts to curtail its spread.

    He said 177 primary and secondary contacts of the index case had been placed under surveillance or isolation after 22 days of the EVD outbreak in Nigeria.

    Chukwu said: “Of these 10, two have died; that is, the Liberian-American, Mr Patrick Sawyer and the Nigerian nurse. Eight are alive on treatment.”

    The disease, he said, was discussed at a sub-regional level as a substantive agenda during the Summit of the Authority of Heads of State and Government in July in Accra, Ghana.

    Nigeria, the minister said, played a leading role with the first and only donation of $3.5 million (N500 million) humanitarian and capacity building aid to Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, all in West Africa, the West African Health Organisation (WAHO) and the ECOWAS Ebola Fund.

    He said the Liberian government had expressed sympathies and regrets that the late Sawyer embarked on the tragic journey, which has brought sufferings, death and stress to Nigeria’s health system.

    Chukwu said: “In the same spirit, we share in solidarity, the grief of the governments and people of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone as we confront this challenge together.”

    The minister said the government would continue to discharge its responsibilities as the sub-region confronts the Ebola outbreak.

    He said President Jonathan approved the National Ebola Virus Disease Emergency Containment Plan with  cash backing of N1.9 billion ($12 million) to complement the containment efforts already in place.

    Chukwu said the Federal Government, through its Ministry of Health and its agencies, had been working closely with the World Health Organisation (WHO), United Nation Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United States Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (USCDC), local authorities and other international partners to deepen and broaden the containment efforts.

    He said: “We will continue to work with all stakeholders, local and international partners to maximise and intensify efforts to contain and treat the existing cases.”

    Chukwu explained that those under surveillance did not have any symptom but were being monitored daily. The minister said the team visited 144 of those under surveillance to take their temperature and ask questions in line with the WHO template.

    Although he did not rule out the possibility of those who had direct (primary) contacts with Sawyer to still be symptomatic, Chukwu said their incubation period was over.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    He also said besides the N1.9 billion fund the Federal Government provided, the government had also donated $3.5 million to fight the virus in the three Ebola-ravaged countries.

    On the use of trial drugs on Ebola patients in United States (U.S), the minister explained that there was nothing wrong administering the trial drugs on patents, especially under the present condition, as long as it is with the consent of the patient.

     

  • Nigeria has 10 cases of infection, says minister

    Nigeria has 10 cases of infection, says minister

    •177 on isolation, surveillance 

    Health Minister Prof Onyebuchi Chukwu said yesterday Nigeria has recorded 10 cases of infected persons with the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD).

    Of the 10, two have died, he said.

    The minister spoke on the deadly disease and government’s efforts to curtail its spread.

    He said 177 primary and secondary contacts of the index case had been placed under surveillance or isolation after 22 days of the EVD outbreak in Nigeria.

    Chukwu said: “Of these 10, two have died; that is, the Liberian-American, Mr Patrick Sawyer and the Nigerian nurse. Eight are alive on treatment.”

    The disease, he said, was discussed at a sub-regional level as a substantive agenda during the Summit of the Authority of Heads of State and Government in July in Accra, Ghana.

    Nigeria, the minister said, played a leading role during the summit with the first and only donation of $3.5 million (N500 million) humanitarian and capacity building aid to Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, all in West Africa, the West African Health Organization (WAHO) and the ECOWAS Ebola Fund.

    He said the Liberian Government had expressed sympathies and regrets that the late Sawyer embarked on the tragic journey, which has brought sufferings, death and stress to Nigeria’s health system.

    Chukwu said: “In the same spirit, we share in solidarity, the grief of the governments and people of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone as we confront this challenge together.”

    The minister said the government would continue to discharge its responsibilities as the sub-region confronts the Ebola outbreak.

    He said President Jonathan approved the National Ebola Virus Disease Emergency Containment Plan with an immediate cash backing of N1.9 billion ($12 million) to complement the containment efforts already in place.

    Chukwu said the Federal Government, through its Ministry of Health and its agencies, had been working closely with the World Health Organisation (WHO), United Nation Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United States Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (USCDC), local authorities and other international partners to further deepen and broaden the containment efforts.

    He said: “We will continue to work with all stakeholders, local and international partners to maximise and intensify efforts to contain and treat the existing cases.”

    Chukwu explained that those under surveillance did not have any symptom but were being monitored daily. The minister said the team visited 144 of those under surveillance to take their temperature and ask questions in line with the WHO template.

    Although he did not rule out the possibility of those who had direct (primary) contacts with Sawyer to still be symptomatic, Chukwu said their incubation period was over.

    He also said besides the N1.9 billion fund the Federal Government provided, the government had also donated $3.5 million to fight the virus in the three Ebola-ravaged countries.

    On the use of trial drugs on Ebola patients in United States (U.S), the minister explained that there was nothing wrong administering the trial drugs on patents, especially under the present condition, as long as it is with the consent of the patient.

     

  • Ebola: ‘Several could have made contact with Sawyer’

    Ebola: ‘Several could have made contact with Sawyer’

    How many people had contact with the late Patrick Sawyer at the time he arrived the country?

    This was the question on the lips of Nigerians on Thursday when the Minister of Health, Prof. onyebuchi Chukwu, disclosed that several people could have made contact with the deceased.

    Besides, he said those that attended to him within the first two days were not protected.

    Although, there is no new case yet, the World Health Organisation has said that more than 900 people have died so far with 1,700 infected.

    Onyebuchi said between the aircraft and the hospital, the number of those that had contact with the Liberian is still unknown.

    The minister also sounded a note of warning that the situation has assumed a global emergency as everyone is at risk.

    He said, “Indeed, this is coming from a Liberian citizen who is also an American agency worker. The family said he resides in America and he was expected to return to America for the celebration of his baby.

    ‘This tells us that if only the incubation period shifted a little bit, he would have come here, attend the ECOWAS meeting in Calabar and would have returned to United States and probably it would have started manifesting in the U.S. So, this means the whole world is in danger.

    “The two statements I want to make and if that is the only thing you will remember today, that will be sufficient for me; firstly, indeed, we have an emergency in our hands. For me, it is a national emergency but for all of us, it is a global emergency. Secondly, everyone is at risk, every nation is at risk and every individual is at risk.”

     

  • Ebola: FG introduces life insurance for health workers

    Ebola: FG introduces life insurance for health workers

    The Federal Government has instituted life insurance policy for health workers attending to Ebola Virus patients.

    Besides, outbound passengers would be screened before leaving the country

    The Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, announced these during a meeting with foreign missions in the country Thursday.

    He assured that these will start in the coming week as efforts are now geared towards putting everything in place.

    He said, ““we are facing some challenges because we need to encourage workers especially when they hear that some doctors and nurses are dying even now in Nigeria, a nurse has died. It has now become increasingly difficult to convince health workers to attend to these patients but we have to and we are making effort to get people.

    “We have also improved their confidence level, what we have decided is that all the people taking part even if they did not have insurance before, they must have insurance. This one is not indemnity for now alone, it is life insurance to protect them and their families so that in case anything happens to them, their families will not suffer double loss. So, that is mandatory and the Head of Civil Service of the Federation for All federal workers and all the people we will recruit whether private, state or federal personnel are going to enjoy this insurance.”

    On the screening of outbound passengers, “I believe by next week, we will start, we are trying to get personnel in place, we have equipment but we need more personnel, it is not easy screening all the airports, so we are trying to fill that gap.

    “The kind of help we mean is for instance, if you have an airline that is flying from country A and it is their airline, we can say, ok, we will give you some staff to do it with them.”

    On the trial drug, which the government requested from the United States Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Onyebuchi said he is still awaiting response on that.

     

  • Ebola virus: No scientific proof of bitter-cola potency, says Onyebuchi

    Ebola virus: No scientific proof of bitter-cola potency, says Onyebuchi

    Health Minister, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu has said that there is no scientific evidence to the potency of bitter-cola in the cure and prevention of Ebola Virus Disease.

    The research  work that people are laying claims to according to the Minister is inconclusive as it is still in text-tube.

    Former Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Maurice Iwu back in 199 alongside some American researchers did a research that shows that extract from bitter-cola tend to have some activities against the virus.

    The research was however not concluded and hence the minister said therefore there is no scientific proof to back up the claims.

    He said, “ information  that is been circulated especially through the social media and the rest of the internet tend to suggest that because right now, there is no known vaccine for EVD and there is no known specific drug as effective against EVD, if we don’t streamline a lot of these information, the unwary will become so vulnerable. People have said that they know that a fruit is sufficient to cure EVD.

    “As I speak to you now, there is no proof yet of any such fruit. I repeat, there is no proof yet of any fruit.

    “One that has been mentioned is that just keep chewing bitter kola and you will be alright. As the Minister of Health of the Federal Republic of Nigeria I say that right now, there is no scientific yet to suggest that if you just eat bitter kola you will get to prevent the disease or where you have it, it will help to cure it.

    “However, we are aware that in 1999, Prof. Maurice Iwu worked along with an administration in United States of America and conducted research which at the level of the laboratory is what we call in-vitro research which means it is still in the test tube as it were and it is not in any living body which we call in-vivo.

    “This shows that some extract they had obtained from the bitter kola which is common in West Africa and in Nigeria and which we use for so many purposes in Nigeria including social reasons which tend to have some activities against the virus but that research was not concluded and therefore as at today, there is no evidence to link that as a cure or preventive measure against Ebola Virus Disease.

    “As I speak to you, there is no scientific evidence that says the use of bitter kola either prevents or cures Ebola Virus Disease but having taken note of that particular disease and other ones, we also feel that mass mobilization and creation of enlightenment that is very vital as a public health strategy in management of EVD that we do not neglect the issue of research related to EVD as we know, no progress can ever be made without research.

    He however said the ministry do not neglect research on Ebola Virus Disease, stressing that the ministry is keen to encourage research into the treatment of the disease just like many other countries are doing.

    This he said explained the setting up of a six member working group on the treatment and research of Ebola Virus.

    According to him, “therefore,  the Federal Government is keen to encourage research into EVD and today we are looking at research into treatment of EVD to be sure and research is ongoing all over the world to find the vaccine or a specific drug that will be active against EVD.

    “So, we are setting up Treatment Research Group for Ebola Virus Disease.  TRG for EVD”

    The committee which included Prof. Iwu is co-chaired by  Innocent Ujah, Director General of Nigerian Medical Research Institute and Director General National Institute of Pharmaceutical Research, Prof. Kaniyus Gamaniel.

     

    Other members are  Prof. Andullraman Nasidi  of the National Centre for Disease Control ( NCDC ),  Dr Sani Gwarzo of the Port Health Service,  Director of Public Health,  Federal Ministry of Health, Dr Bridget Okoeguela and Director of Health Planning and Research,  Mrs As a Ogu.

     

    The committee which was inaugurated yesterday has as terms of reference: to carryout research and treatment on the virus; to receive and verify claims; collate and analyse research findings with similar countries around the world; and to advice government as may be appropriate from time to time.

    The committee has also been given free hands to bring in their technical staff as they deem fit.

     

    Ends

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Nigeria ‘not considering’ border closure over Ebola

    Nigeria ‘not considering’ border closure over Ebola

    Nigeria is not considering closing its border with neighboring countries as a means of containing the spread of Ebola Virus Disease, the Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, has said.

    Chukwu, who spoke in Abuja on Monday, however said the Federal Government through the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has directed airlines not to bring back dead bodies from the three Ebola highly burden countries.

    He stressed that anybody that died as a result of Ebola outside the country should be buried there and not to be brought back home.

    The minister also said government agencies at the borders have been directed to ensure proper checks to ensure that bodies of Ebola victims are not allowed in.

    He said, “We will not close our border. We still maintain that for now, we are not doing that for a number of reasons but if it becomes necessary, we will do that. We are screening everybody coming through our border for now.”

    , “Regarding the issue of surveillance at the borders, again, those of you who might have found out what is going on at the points of entry at the Muritala Muhammed Airport and Nnamdi Azikwwe International Airport, our land crossing at Idiroko, and also the land crossing at Seme which are very popular land crossings for passengers coming from the ECOWAS countries.

    “You will find out that the Port Health Service has actually strengthened its screening there and people are being screened through infrared.  They screen without having to touch any passenger and the agencies there are working together.

    “We have also advised Customs through the Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala that through our land borders, Customs should not allow corpses to be brought into the country. So, these are newer directives that have emanated and we have given them through the appropriate ministers.”

    On the directives issued to airlines, the minister said, “”We have also issued directives through the appropriate ministers and to all airlines that they should not bring back corpses from the three countries where we have the greatest number of cases. They should not bring back dead bodies except where it is clear on the death certificate that it is not Ebola. So, cases where they are Ebola or nobody knows the cause of the death, no airline will bring them whether private airline or commercial airline. The minister of Aviation is taking care of that.”

  • Ebola: No scientific proof of bitter cola potency – Minister

    Ebola: No scientific proof of bitter cola potency – Minister

    The Health Minister, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, has said there is no scientific evidence of bitter cola potency in the cure and prevention of Ebola virus disease.

    The research work that people are laying claims, to according to the minister is inconclusive.

    It would be recalled that in 1999, a former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Maurice Iwu, alongside some American researchers conducted a research that showed that extract from bitter cola tend to neutralize the effects of virus. But the outcome of that research work has not been scientifically confirmed to be true or not.

    He said, “Information that is being circulated especially through the social media and the rest of the internet tend to suggest that because right now, there is no known vaccine for Ebola Virus Disease and there is no known specific drug as effective against EVD. If we don’t streamline a lot of these information, the unwary will become so vulnerable. People have said that they know that a fruit is sufficient to cure EVD.

    “As I speak to you now, there is no proof yet of any such fruit. I repeat, there is no proof yet of any fruit.

    “One that has been mentioned is that just keep chewing bitter kola and you will be alright. As the Minister of Health of the Federal Republic of Nigeria I say that right now, there is no scientific yet to suggest that if you just eat bitter kola you will get to prevent the disease or where you have it, it will help to cure it.

    “However, we are aware that in 1999, Prof. Maurice Iwu worked along with an administration in United States of America and conducted research which at the level of the laboratory is what we call in-vitro research which means it is still in the test tube as it were and it is not in any living body which we call in-vivo.

    “This shows that some extract they had obtained from the bitter kola which is common in West Africa and in Nigeria and which we use for so many purposes in Nigeria including social reasons tend to have some activities against the virus. But that research was not concluded and therefore as at today, there is no evidence to link that as a cure or preventive measure against Ebola Virus Disease.”

     

  • Nigeria on ‘red alert’ over Ebola

    Nigeria on ‘red alert’ over Ebola

    The Federal Government said it has put all entries into Nigeria on red alert after confirming the death of a Liberian man who was carrying the Ebola virus.

    The man died after arriving at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, on Tuesday, in the first Ebola case in Africa’s most populous country, the BBC reports.

    Surveillance has been stepped up at all “airports, seaports and land borders”, says Health Minister Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu.

    Since February, more than 660 people have died of Ebola in West Africa – the world’s deadliest outbreak to date.

    It began in southern Guinea and spread to Liberia and Sierra Leone.

    The Liberian man collapsed on arrival in Lagos last Sunday. He was taken from the airport to hospital, where he was put in quarantine.

    Officials have identified the 40-year-old man as an employee of the Liberian government.

    Prof. Chukwu confirmed that other passengers on board the flight had been traced and were being monitored.

    The patient had “avoided contact with the general public” between the airport and the hospital, he said.

    Health specialists have been deployed at all entry points into the country, he added.

    The virus, which kills up to 90 per cent of those infected, spreads through contact with an infected person’s bodily fluids.

    Patients have a better chance of survival if they receive treatment early.

     

  • Nyanya blast: Troops arrest 8 Nigerian, Cameroonian suspects

    Nyanya blast: Troops arrest 8 Nigerian, Cameroonian suspects

    •Death toll now 20, injured 85

    EIGHT foreigners are now in security custody in connection with Thursday’s bomb explosions at Nyanya, near Abuja, the Defence Headquarters said yesterday.

    It also confirmed that it foiled insurgents’ attacks on Margimari village and other settlements on the outskirts of Maiduguri early yesterday.

    The DHQ insisted that neither Maiduguri nor University of Maiduguri was attacked as rumoured in some quarters.

    The Director of Defence Information, Gen. Chris Olukolade, who gave the update in a statement in Abuja, said the suspects were helping ongoing probe of the blasts.

    He said the arrested persons are helping ongoing investigation with useful information after the operation which is sequel to intelligence reports.

    They were picked up around Kugbo and areas adjoining the Nyanya site of the recent bombings in the Federal Capital.

    “Those confirmed to constitute threat to security will be handed over to appropriate prosecutorial agency on conclusion of the preliminary investigations,”he said.

    However ,a source said the arrested foreigners are from Cameroun and Niger Republic.

    “They are already being quizzed at a detention facility which for security reasons we cannot disclose,” the source said .

    It was gathered that fingerprint scanning on the suspects confirmed traces of IED in their hands.

    “The ongoing grilling of the suspects may provide more clues on the blast in Nyanya.”

    One more victim of the Nyanya bomb blast   has died,bringing the death toll to 20.

    The victim,whose identity was not immediately known died at the Asokoro Hospital.

    Fourteen of those injured and receiving treatment in various hospitals in the Federal Capital Territory have already been discharged.

    An unknown number of people who were injured were said to have opted to take care of theri treatment.

    Health Minister Onyebuchi Chukwu and Minister of State Khaliru Alhassan visited the hospitals yesterday to monitor interact with the injured.

    They visited Asokoro Hopsital, Nyanya Hopsital, Maitama, Wuse and Gwarinpa Hospital.

    Speaking at the end of their visit, both minister expressed satisfaction at their improvement in the health of the patients.

    Meanwhile, Gen Olukolade also yesterday dismissed reports of an attack on Maiduguri yesterday, saying:”Rather, on receiving distress call, troops at about 2am this morning (yesterday) launched a counter attack using mainly mortar shells on a group of terrorists who had attacked and killed four persons in Margimari village and other settlements in the outskirts of Maiduguri.

    “There was no fighting or attack around the University or any barrack in Maiduguri either, as reported.”

    He also said that a Chadian, Usman Mecheka operating with the terrorists group around Lake Chad has been taken into custody by the Multi National Joint Task Force.

    He was apprehended by the Task Force while trying to extract a ransom from herdsmen and farmers in the area, after an earlier attack on the community.

    Troops of the Special Task Force in the Plateau have also raided a camp maintained by an armed gang operating in a settlement in Shendam Local Government Area of Plateau State.

    “A gun fabricating machine as well as some arms and ammunition from the hideout were recovered during the raid. Also recovered during the raid, were local single barrel guns, pistols, an automatic rifle, bullet pellets and a large quantity of materials for producing gun powder,” he said.

     

  • Minister: we must kill malaria

    Minister: we must kill malaria

    Minister of Health Onyebuchi Chukwu has said the war against malaria must be won.

    He spoke at a programme by Reckitt Benckiser to mark this year’s World Malaria Day in Umuahia, Abia State.

    Managing Director, Reckitt Benckiser, Rahul Morgai, said the company was committed to the fight against malaria in Nigeria.

    He said: “If according to the World Health Organisation, malaria still kills 3,000 children under the age of five every day and one African child still dies every 30 seconds while sub-Saharan Africa bears 90 per cent of the burden, then we all must rise to the occasion and put an end to malaria in Nigeria.

    “We believe the larger cause can be addressed if only we reach the masses through scaled awareness creation and education. Our approach therefore will not be a silver bullet approach. After today’s celebration, we have committed to supporting the Abia State Government on the Roll Back Malaria initiative by ensuring that the message of this campaign can be taken to hospitals in the crooks and crannies of Abia State.”

    Chukwu urged Mortein to help spread the message of the campaign against malaria.

    The minister said: “I encourage us all to strive towards effective leadership and partnership, which I believe will give us the needed leverage to free Nigeria and indeed Africa of malaria. I call on everyone to play an active part in this fight because together, we can have a malaria free Nigeria.”