Ebola: Corpse from Liberia causes panic in Anambra; Kolanut can cure it — Prof Maurice

There was tension, on Thursday, in Anambra State, as the state government raises the alarm over suspected Ebola-infected corpse flown from Liberia to the state through Lagos.

The Anambra State Ministry of Health, on Thursday, announced that there are fears in the state that the dreaded Ebola disease might have sneaked into the state through a corpse deposited in Apex Mortuary, Nkwelle Ezunaka, Oyi Local Government Area, at the weekend.

It was gathered that the corpse was deposited at one of the morgues at the weekend and already over 50 persons in contact with the corpse had been quarantined until epidemiologists from Federal Ministry of Health certifies them free.

The state government, through the state Ministry of Health, immediately ordered for temporal closure of the hospital until the staff and patients, including the deceased family members, were screened by the epidemiology unit of the Federal Ministry of Health.

Speaking to newsmen in his office, the state Commissioner for Health, Dr Josephat Akabuike, disclosed that the corpse was flown into the state at the weekend, adding that the state had collected all the necessary preventive garments to protect the virus from spreading.

“We had a report that a corpse was brought into the state through Lagos and the deceased was said to be taken from Liberia, where there is a several reported cases of ebola virus disease.”

The commissioner also informed that the state government had instituted a rapid response team, saddled with the responsibility of responding to emergencies, revealing that the state governor, Chief Willie Obiano, had ordered for the acquisition of 400 personal protective equipment to protect the health workers in the state.
He urged all residents to call the following emergency numbers, 08030890440 or 08030864502 anytime there was a suspected case of Ebola disease in their area.

US issues travel warning to 3 African countries
The United States (US), on Thursday, issued travel warnings for three countries hit by the Ebola outbreak: Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

The warning to avoid non-essential travel from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was the first the agency has issued since 2003, which was in response to SARS in Asia.
Kolanut can cure it —Prof Maurice Iwu

According to a research, led by Professor Maurice Iwu, head, the Bioresources Development and Conservation Programme, a plant, commonly eaten in West Africa, Garcinia kola has been found to halt the deadly Ebola virus in its tracks in laboratory tests.

If repeated in humans, this would give the body a chance to fight off the virus.
They used a compound from Garcinia kola, a plant. Compounds from the plant have also proved effective against some strains of flu.

If the anti-Ebola compound proves successful in animal and human trials, it will be the first medicine to successfully treat the virus that causes Ebola haemorrhagic fever, an often-fatal condition.
The discovery was announced at the 16th International Botanical Congress in St Louis in the United States of America in 1999.