He stated that the suspect is a seven-month old baby who had  come with his parents  from Ibadan for a visit at Ilorin after one of those taking care of him had returned to Ibadan from Lagos.

Addressing journalists in Ilorin on Thursday, he stated that it had not yet been  confirmed that the child is infected with Ebola and that there is no confirmed case of the disease in the state as being rumoured, adding that residents of the state should not panic.

Opabola who is also the Senior Special Assistant to the  Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed on Public Health clarified that the baby who was on Wednesday suspected  to have been infected with Ebola was found with some symptoms which, he stated are not exclusive to Ebola disease.

According to him, the symptoms also manifest with patients of lassa fever, cholera, malaria and some other diseases.

Opabola  said that the baby initially manifested symptoms of malaria and after treating him for about two days without improvement, his mother was advised to take him to a private pediatric specialist hospital in the Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.

He added that after a clinical assessment on the patient  by the medical director of the hospital, the baby was diagnosed  with Ebola-like symptoms such as fever, diarrhea, and vomiting of contents that partly contained blood.

According  to him,  the  doctor consequently made a report of the baby’s case to the relevant government agency for necessary actions.

He stated that the government has temporarily closed down the private hospital where the baby was initially admitted.

Opabola who is also a professor of medicine said the state government immediately took the baby to the Specialist Hospital at Sobi in Ilorin for proper attention. He added that samples from the patient had  already being taken for tests at Lagos University Teaching Hospital  and another unnamed testing centre in Lagos.