OAU Ebola suspect tests negative

AUTHORITIES of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU),Ile-Ife Thursday said that the result of a preliminary and confirmatory test conducted on a female student of the university suspected to have contracted Ebola Virus Disease has proved negative.

Addressing a press conference at the conference room of the university, the Vice Chancellor of the university, Professor Bamitale Omole said the outcome of the test had further confirmed the position by the school authorities that the university was EVD -free.

Omole,who was flanked at the conference by EVD Monitoring Committee earlier put in place and headed by Professor Niyi Onayemi said the university was happy to announce to the whole world that the university community is free from EVD.

His words,"Sequel to an earlier release on a female student of Obafemi Awolowo University who was suspected to have been a secondary contact with Ebola Virus Disease and who was sent to the Ebola Isolation Centre in Lagos for further clinical and laboratory investigation,the university authorities are happy to announce that the result of the preliminary and confirmatory tests proved negative".

"The university authorities therefore wish to inform the university community and the general public that the preliminary results and the confirmatory tests proved negative", he said.

Omole,who was ostensibly happy about the outcome of the tests on the suspected student also noted that contrary to unfounded rumour that parents and guardians have started to withdraw their children and wards from the university, students and workers of the university are busy going about their legitimate duty peacefully.

He noted that since competent authority had given the university a clean bill of health over the speculated EVD outbreak,"everyone is enjoined to go about their normal business freely without fear or panic.However,as prevention is better than cure,members of the university community and the general public are advised to maintain standard hygienic precautionary measures as established by the University Ebola Surveillance Committee".

Omole recounted the steps taken as preventive measures before the EVD issue came to public glare said immediately the case of the suspected student came to the management,he contacted the Minister of Health Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu while Osun state governor,Rauf Aregbesola and other top government functionaries were also properly briefed.

He said the school authorities had communicated foreign students in the university not to resume in school until further notice as part of the preventive measures to stave off the spread of the disease

Members of the university community also had a session with the state government yesterday on the way forward to intensify the precautionary measures against the deadly disease.

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