AS tension mounts over the possible spread of the deadly and infectious Ebola Virus in the country, the Federal Government said yesterday that the hospital where the body of the Nigerian who died in Liberia was kept would remain sealed pending the result of investigations to ascertain whether the man died of related causes.

   This came as the Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, disclosed that the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) was working to ensure that the virus does not spread around the country.

   “A team is presently in Anambra to dispose the corpse in a safe manner according to WHO protocol. But before disposing the corpse, tissue samples will be obtained for laboratory analysis,” Chukwu said. “The governor of Anambra State is to be commended for reporting the matter to the Federal Ministry of Health officials.”

   Meanwhile, security men deployed by the state may have foiled an attempt to remove the corpse. It was gathered that a family member of the deceased attempted to remove the body on Saturday but was stopped by security operatives following directives from the state government.

   Government officials are believed to be making spirited efforts at locating the man to know his level of with his late brother’s corpse when it was brought to Nigeria, as well as those he had made contact with since the corpse was deposited in the mortuary.

   The state government has also begun mapping of the entire area and commenced proactive action to ensure that very minimal contact is made with the corpse pending the arrival of officials of the Ministry of Health to conduct tests. 

   The health team, led by the Anambra State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Josephat Akabuike, was awaiting the federal officials’ arrival yesterday, even as the hospital has been cordoned. Consequently, all patients in the hospital have been transferred to a general hospital for necessary precautionary tests.

   Also, the Federal Government has contacted officials of the Gambian airline that flew the corpse to Lagos to know the condition under which it was brought to Nigeria and those who handled the corpse from the hospital to the airport.

   However, the fact that the man died at the JFK Hospital in Liberia, a reputable hospital, may have reduced anxieties that he might have died of Ebola disease as it was believed that if it had been so, his body would not have been allowed to be flown out in that manner.

   Nevertheless, “while we are hoping that he might not have died of Ebola disease, we are taking all measures to ensure the safety of everybody,” a state government official was quoted to say.

   Similarly, efforts are being made to reach the airline that brought the body from Lagos to Anambra, those that received it in Anambra before it was deposited in the mortuary and those that prepared it (if at all) before it was deposited in the mortuary.