The Chairman of Jema’a Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Mr. Yunana Barde has sued for calm over the outbreak of a yet-to-be-confirmed disease which is currently ravaging Kafanchan community.
Barde made this appeal yesterday while speaking with newsmen at the General Hospital in Kafanchan.
He called on the people not to panic as all hands were on deck to contain further spread of the disease.
The head of the council praised the General Hospital for its quick action in setting up a temporary isolation facility for suspected instances of the illness.
Dr. Isaac Nathaniel, the medical director of the general hospital, stated that 10 potential victims were receiving resuscitation on entry and that samples from those patients had since been collected for an 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 counselled 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 ‘hearsay’ 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.
The outbreak has forced many primary and secondary schools in Kafanchan to shutdown pending the conclusion of medical investigation.