Mr. Yunana Barde, Chairman of Jema’a Local Government Area of Kaduna state has called for calm over the outbreak of a yet-to-be confirmed disease in Kafanchan on Wednesday night.
Barde made the call on Thursday while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at the General Hospital in Kafanchan.
He urged the people not to panic as all hands were on deck to contain further spread of the disease.
The council boss commended the General Hospital for its prompt response in providing a temporary isolation centre for suspected cases of the disease.
Meanwhile, the Medical Director of the General Hospital, Dr. Isaac Nathaniel, told NAN that resuscitative measures were being carried out on 10 suspected victims on admission, adding that their samples had since been collected for investigation.
“Last night I was notified of the outbreak of what looks like a respiratory tract infection at Ward B community in Kafanchan.
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“I quickly dispatched a team of medical and laboratory personnel who got in touch with three of the suspected cases.
“We counseled them to come to the hospital for proper evaluation and treatment, after seven more victims were brought in today.
“We are doing all we can, to stabilise them and give them treatment while we carry out investigation,’’ he added
He said the victims were children between ages three and 13 who displayed symptoms ranging from sore throat, headache, fever, difficulty in swallowing and breathing, amongst others.
According to him, the state epidemiologist and his team were on their way to Kafanchan from Kaduna to ascertain the epidemiologic basis of the outbreak and its spread.
On the alleged death of about 10 people from the ailment, Nathaniel said it was ‘hear say’ as none of the purported dead bodies had been brought to the mortuary.
“We were notified of some deaths last night but none of the so called dead bodies has been brought to us. So, it’s all hearsay for now,” he said.
He called on residents of Kafanchan to be on the look out, as measures are put in place to prevent further spread of the disease.
NAN reports that the outbreak has forced many primary and secondary schools in Kafanchan to shutdown pending the conclusion of medical investigation. (NAN)
