L.A.S MEDIA HOUSE

Saturday 20 September 2014

Ebola: Lagos distributes thermoscans to schools

As Lagos schools prepare for resumption, the state
government has distributed thermoscans, a scientific
instrument used to measure body temperature, to its 1007
Ebola Focal Officers (EFOs) in public primary schools and 668
others in its public secondary schools.

Special Adviser to the State Governor on Public Health, Dr.
Yewande Adeshina, who disclosed this at a sensitization and
enlightenment seminar for the EFOs yesterday, explained
that they will be responsible for surveillance and health
monitoring of the disease in each school and interface
between schools and primary healthcare centres if the need
to refer students arises.
Adeshina noted that the thermoscans were procured by the
state government for the use of schools in order to check vital
signs of students, especially body temperature, which can
signal the commencement of fever.
She added that government also planned to provide public
schools which are not connected to the state water supply
with water, stressing that gloves and liquid soaps for hand
washing had also been procured to aid personal and
environmental hygiene.
Adeshina noted that mass fear about the disease is harmful,
stressing that only visibly ill or sick patients can spread the
disease via direct contact with the broken skin, mucous
membranes and secretions of an infected person or through
direct contact with materials and surfaces that have been
contaminated by an infected person.
She said: "Lagosians, please remain calm. There is no reason
to panic as your government, in partnership with the federal
government and development partners, is resolved and
committed to contain the disease."
While noting that the containment of Ebola is a shared
responsibility of all citizens, the Special Adviser implored
Ebola focal officers to take the issue of personal and
environmental hygiene with utmost importance and report
any suspicious case of the disease to the appropriate
quarters or call the Ebola help line.
Adeshina said the EFOs have also been provided with
guidelines on how to prevent the spread of the disease,
stressing that one of the goals of the seminar was to
enlighten them on what they need to know about Ebola and
what should be done upon suspecting the disease.
She reiterated that Ebola infection is not a death sentence as
evidenced by the recovery of nine confirmed cases in Lagos,
who have now been discharged with five of them meeting
the state governor on Thursday to recount their ordeal with
the disease.
The Special Adviser noted that the common thread amongst
the recovered cases remains their early presentation for
supportive treatment, adding that there is the need to report
any suspected case since the earlier they are brought for
screening and surveillance, the better the outcome.
She opined that all hands must be on deck in order to get to
the home stretch after the last curve is achieved in a very
timely fashion, having gone this far with the containment
measures.
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device from MTN

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