In its determination to deploy all available apparatus to prevent outbreak of Ebola infection in Nigeria, the federal government has further placed all health officials at the nation’s borders on high alert.

 

Saturday Mirror gathered yesterday that in addition to earlier directive from the Minister of Health, Prof Onyebuchi Chukwu, that officials of the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, take immediate action on assessing the effectiveness of port health officials in curbing the menace, the N-CDC staff have taken over the nation’s ports.

 

A port official at the Nigeria-Seme border in Lagos State, who spoke with Saturday Mirror on telephone yesterday, and pleaded anonymity said responsibilities of ports health officials had doubled as they were continuously under the watch of the “officials from the centre.”

 

“You know we still have challenges in controlling movement of people not only on this axis but along other borders in the country, many of which are very porous. Officials of the CDC are here; they are ensuring everyone coming in is properly screened. That is all I can tell you for now.

 

They are really mounting pressure on us that we must not allow the disease to infect anyone in the country,” the official stated. Ebola had killed about 80 people in Guinea where it first broke out fortnight ago before spreading through the West-Africa region.

Ebola is a deadly hemorrhagic fever with a case fatality rate ranging between 60 to 90 per cent in humans and it is transmitted to humans through close contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected animals. Animals such as bats and dogs, including monkey are more likely to infect humans with the disease if there is contact with them; and the federal government has repeatedly warned against hunting for them in the bush.

 

When dead, they cannot be as harmful as when they are alive; so consuming the animals cannot be as deadly as hunting for them.

 

A national newspaper had, a fortnight ago, reported that Ebola killed a 15-yearold Medicine undergraduate of Bingham University, Nasarawa State, Temi Ilesanmi, following her alleged contact with a monkey belonging to her neighbours. But, government denied the report, through Minister of State for Health, Dr. Khaliru Alhassan, who said laboratory reports showed the case involving the deceased was dengue, another hemorrhagic fever less deadly than Ebola.

 

There have since been international concerns over possibility of the outbreak of the disease in Nigeria, given its porous borders, massive migration and contiguity to its West African neighbours.

 

Minister of Health, Prof Onyebuchi Chukwu, on Wednesday also expressed fear over likelihood of the outbreak of the disease during an interview with State House correspondents, shortly after the weekly Federal Executive Council meeting. T

 

he Minister said: “Nigeria is in danger. Like you pointed out, Ebola has been moving eastward towards Nigeria as well and we are already facing danger from Central African Republic, even with what is happening in Congo, people are also migrating to Chad, Chad and Cameroun are also in our borders. “So, Nigeria is in danger but we have recently said fine, that in addition to the leaflets that we are producing for Lassa fever and other hemorrhagic fever, we will now emphasise Ebola fever.

 

“As I speak to you, we have already approved for jingles to be produced in various languages for Nigerian Centre for Disease Control to be aired on radio, TV and newspaper adverts. Then, we are working with all groups, just like we are doing for polio, religious bodies, communities, traditional rulers and the media which is most important in this venture.”