Ebola: Hospitals reject patients with feverish conditions without trace of Ebola

The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris lamented that some hospitals in Lagos have started to reject patients with feverish condition even without trace of Ebola just for fear that they might be having the disease.

     "Rejection of febrile patients in
      hospitals without proper
      assessment constitutes another
      challenge, as same may also
      increase stigma and deter
      self-reporting. Not everybody
      with fever of haemorrhage has
      come down with EVD. A
      situation where untested cases
      are automatically referred to
      the Mainland General Hospital
      is not a good practice," he said.

Idris appealed to both public and private doctors to commence the management of these cases using universal safety precautions and only refer them if there was an indication to do so.

The commissioner added that the government was aware of both the health and economic issues related to the containment of the EVD as the current efforts were primarily and doggedly directed at human aspect.

     "There are plans to address the
      economic issues in the
      foreseeable future. This is in
      realisation that business of
      especially some private health
      facilities have been adversely
      affected," he said.

Idris called on residents of the state to adhere to the highest possible standard of personal and environmental hygiene and waste management disposal processes, adding that in the overriding interest of all, there would be a zero tolerance stance to indiscriminate public urination and defecation.