Nigerians beg Obama to give Lagos nurse vaccine

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <h1 class="entry-title" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-image: url(http://www.punchng.com/wp-content/themes/punch/images/dots-horizontal.gif); background-position: 0% 100%; background-repeat: repeat no-repeat; border-top-color: rgb(255, 1, 1) !important; border-top-style: solid !important; border-top-width: 1px !important; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 9px 4px;"> <br /></h1> <div class="entry-content" style="overflow: hidden;"> <div class="story-featured-image" style="border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); float: left; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-right: 15px; min-width: 378px !important; width: 368px;"> <img alt="Obama and Justina Ejelonu" class="attachment-bigstoryimage" height="225" scale="0" src="http://www.punchng.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Obama-and-Justina-Ejelonu-360x225.jpg" style="border: none; float: left; margin-right: 10px; padding: 4px;" width="360" /><div class="featured-image-caption" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 5px; padding: 5px 10px 0px;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Obama and Justina Ejelonu</span></div> </div> <div style="float: left; padding: 10px 18px 5px 0px; width: 370px;"> <ins class="adsbygoogle" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7167863529667065" data-ad-slot="6184555097" data-adsbygoogle-status="done" style="display: inline-block; height: 140px; width: 370px;"><ins id="aswift_0_expand" style="border: none; display: inline-table; height: 140px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; visibility: visible; width: 370px;"><ins id="aswift_0_anchor" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); border: none; display: block; height: 140px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; visibility: visible; width: 370px;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="140" hspace="0" id="aswift_0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" name="aswift_0" scrolling="no" style="left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px;" vspace="0" width="370"></iframe></ins></ins></ins></div> <div id="nrelate_flyout_placeholder"> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Nigerians on different social media platforms on Saturday asked President Barack Obama to give a vaccine, <em>ZMapp</em>, being developed in the United States to treat a Nigerian nurse, Justina Ejelonu, reportedly infected with Ebola.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">On such websites as Facebook and Twitter, the petitioners begged Obama to release the vaccine to Ejelonu and other Africans suffering from the virus. The petitions were made on the White House website.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Ejelonu, who is one of those that were infected with the Ebola virus after treating the Liberian victim, Patrick Sawyer, has said she did not have direct contact with Sawyer’s body fluids.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The deadly virus, which leads to death in humans within days from infection, is transmitted through sweat, urine, blood, and other fluids from the body.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Ejelonu recounted her encounter with Sawyer in a report on a website, <em>www.southeastnigeria.com</em>.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">According to the website, she said she had checked his vitals and helped him with food because he was too weak, and that the mode of transmission could be from touching the same surfaces as the Liberian.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">She said, “I never contacted his fluids. I checked his vitals, helped him with his food (he was too weak). I basically touched where his hands touched and that’s the only contact — not directly with his fluids.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“At a stage, he yanked off his infusion and we had blood everywhere on his bed. But the ward maids took care of that and changed his linens with great precaution. Every patient is treated as high-risk. If it were air borne, by now <em>wahala for dey</em> (there would have been trouble). I still thank God.”</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Ejelonu added that the workers’ uniforms and Sawyer’s bedding were burnt afterwards, saying the staff were under surveillance and off-duty till August 11.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">She said, “Our samples have long been taken by the World Health Organisation and so far, we have been fine. Kudos to my hospital management because we work professionally with every patient considered as high-risk — that’s the training.”</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The health worker noted that if it were a public hospital, the outcome might have been different, adding that she was however grateful to the Lagos State Government and the Federal Government for their support.<br />.</span></div> </div> </div> </div>

Nigerians beg Obama to give Lagos nurse vaccine

Obama and Justina Ejelonu Nigerians on different social media platforms on Saturday asked President Barack Obama to give a vacci...

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