The practice of medicine in any country can not be complete if there is no room to control infectious diseases. It means having the right equipment, drugs, knowledge, manpower, and environment to tackle the disease.
Nigeria has a history of facing and defeating life-threatening infectious diseases judging by the way it singlehandedly eradicated the Ebola virus disease in 2014 and COVID-19 in 2020 with the help of other countries. That is proof that Nigeria is not new to infectious disease and has understood its treatment.
The public medical sector, run by the government, and the private medical sector always come together to pull a formidable force whenever the need arises.
Many hospitals are already carving out a solid niche for themselves in handling infectious diseases in Nigeria, and we will mention them in this post. Therefore, let us set the ball rolling.
What is an infectious disease?
Simply put, an infectious disease is the kind of illness that can be transmitted from an infected person to a healthy person. The infected person is called the host of the disease-causing pathogens (harmful organisms).
The infection can be caused by virus, bacteria, parasite, fungi, etc. When it enters the host’s body, it might stay dormant for a while in the internal system until it multiplies enough to cause some harm or discomfort.
At this point, the human host starts to spread this disease to other unsuspecting humans through various means. For example, Ebola was transmitted from human to human through contact with the infected person’s bodily fluids like sweat, blood, urine, etc.
Other infectious diseases can also be transmitted through sexual intercourse through contact with semen and other sexual fluids. Therefore, STIs are indeed infectious diseases because they are highly contagious.
Meanwhile, Infectious diseases are either eradicated or subdued and placed under control. The healthcare industry devised a means to succeed in this such as creating massive awareness even down to the rural areas, the use of Vaccines, supplemental drugs, viral load drugs, and healthy lifestyle.
Some infectious diseases that Nigeria has eradicated or have under control
Ebola Virus Disease – This disease came into Nigeria in July 2014 and was eradicated in September of the same year.
Lassa fever – This disease rears its head now and then. The first Lassa fever outbreak was in 1969, and the last outbreak was in January 2022.
COVID-19 – This disease took the whole world by surprise, including Nigeria. However, it has been extensively controlled and is no longer a threat.
Cholera – Just like Lassa fever, Cholera has been a thorn in the flesh of the Nigerian population. Yet, Nigeria keeps controlling it through awareness and vaccines. The last time Nigeria witnessed a Cholera outbreak was in 2024.
HIV/AIDS – In the early 2000s, HIV/AIDS became a worrisome ache as the disease grew and spread across Nigeria. The world came together and provided extensive awareness and drugs to help infected people control their viral load and help minimize the spread.
Contracting an infectious disease, albeit unknowingly, requires that you visit a hospital urgently to divert side effects. We have done the major part of the work by providing a list of top hospitals in Nigeria for infectious disease treatment. In no particular order, they include:
Lagos state infectious diseases isolation center Yaba
The Lagos State Infectious Disease Isolation Center took on a new name in 2005 to become the Mainland Hospital. The change was important due to the stigma associated with infectious diseases like HIV/AIDS.
Patients with various infectious diseases turned to Mainland Hospital for treatment, especially those from low or no-income families. It formerly had a 40-bed space capacity to accommodate these patients during treatment.
Now, the hospital has expanded in leaps such as: equipment, space, and staff to accommodate more patients with a 110-bed space capacity. More so, Mainland Hospital offers a wide variety of healthcare services which include the following:
- Heart to heart (HIV/AIDS) clinic
- Chest / Dots clinic
- General outpatient clinic
- Accident / emergency services
- Laboratory services
- Etc.
Address: G9CG+VHM, Mainland Hospital Rd, Abule Ijesha, Lagos 100001, Lagos, Nigeria
Phone Number: 09019703001
The University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH) Ituku-Ozalla Enugu
Established in the 20th century, the UNTH Enugu has undergone extensive renovation until it relocated to its current permanent site at Ituku-Ozalla. Now sitting on about 200 acres of land, the efficiency of the hospital came to life.
The movement saw more development in the hospital which led to helping a larger number of patients. It currently has a bed capacity of over 300 and 10 wards.
It offered more services that have been a succor to many Nigerians. Some of their services are as follows:
- Mumps
- Measles
- HIV/AIDS
- Hepatitis A
- Meningitis
- Molluscum Contagiosum
- Mouth infection
- Lyme disease
- Hepatitis B
- Malaria
- Rabies
- Rubella
- Cholera
- Etc.
Address: University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Ituku/Ozalla, Enugu, Nigeria
Phone Number: 07031322008
Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital (ISTH)
Irrua Specialist Hospital is situated in Edo state in Nigeria. The hospital has served the people of Edo state and Nigerian citizens since its inception.
Aside from the infectious diseases that are treated in the hospital, ISTH also provides other health care services to the public including surgery, care assistance, Specialized Therapy, Support, and diagnosis investigation.
The hospital achieves all these through its well-equipped diagnosis center and capable medical team.
Moreover, Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital (ISTH), is qualified to treat two well-known infectious diseases which are Lassa fever and COVID. They have trained staff who carry out these duties with patience, compassion, integrity, and transparency.
Address:KM 87, Benin Auchi Rd, P.M.B. 08, Irrua, Edo state, Nigeria.
Phone Number: 08058065577
Conclusion
While we always pray for an uneventful year each year, it is quite satisfactory to know that we have top hospitals in Nigeria for infectious disease treatment that will stand in the gap for the country.
Therefore, in the event of an outbreak that gets to you, you can seek out any infectious disease hospital near you and begin your treatment.
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