How Nigerian woman causes Ebola scare in Germany

A Nigerian woman showing symptoms of Ebola Virus Disease caused a scare after she fainted at a crowded jobcentre in Berlin, Germany on Tuesday.

She was immediately rushed in an ambulance to the Charite Hospital but about 600 visitors and officials of the job centre were quarantined by emergency service officials who sealed off part of the street in Prenzlauer Berg district where the centre is located.

Several who came into contact with her were later taken to the hospital for testing while those quarantined were allowed to go after several hours.

The Mailonline quoted a mass-circulation German daily, Bild, as reporting that   the woman   later claimed that she recently came into   contact with people infected with Ebola.

Berlin fire department spokesman, Rolf Erbe, said that because the patient came from “an area affected by a highly contagious disease, we took these precautions.”

He said the testing in the hospital would take some time.

“The patient was isolated inside the ambulance, the staff took the appropriate protective measures. An emergency medic, the public health officer, arrived and the necessary precautions were taken,” Erbe added.

A spokesman for the city’s health authority said emergency services were called after the woman, who turned up at the employment bureau with a high fever, collapsed.

Also on Tuesday, the Ogun State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Dr. Olaokun Soyinka, told journalists that two   Guineans and one Nigerian had been placed   on the EVD observation list at Imeko Afon, a border community.

The three men were in the process of crossing over to Nigeria through one of the entry points when they were accosted by the Port Health Services officials.

Soyinka made this known during a news conference on the measures taken by the state government to prevent the spread of the virus to the state in Oke Mosan, Abeokuta.

He said the three travellers could not give satisfactory answers to questions asked on whether they came into contact with an Ebola infected person or not.

Guinea is one of the countries in West Africa where the Ebola scourge is prevalent.

Soyinka explained that the PHS officials later handed them over to the authorities of Imeko Afon Local Government Area for further investigation.

He said, “They were told that unless if they could convince the authorities that they did not   come into contact with an Ebola patient, they would have to go back or if they were to be allowed into Nigeria, we will have to observe them for a while. So, they chose the later and they are still under observation.

“They agreed to wait while they are being observed to make sure that they don’t have the symptoms.”

Soyinka said they would be under observation for 21 days.

While he noted that the state was vulnerable to the virus   because of its   many international entry points, he added that the government was planning to establish isolation centres in all the 20 LGAs in the state.