By Danmaryam Zayamu
The Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, has disclosed that laboratory tests have revealed the strange illness that broke out in Benue State few days ago is neither Ebola virus nor Coronavirus.
He stated this while responding to questions from journalists in Abuja on Friday.
ExpressDay recalls that on January 29, 2020, a strange disease broke out in Oye, Obi Local Government Area of Benue State.
So far, the strange illness has killed 15 people while 104 others have been seriously infected and are in critical condition.
On Thursday, during their deliberations, members of the Senate suspected the outbreak of the strange disease to be Coronavirus epidemic and called on the Federal Ministry of Health to take urgent measures to identify the disease.
Speaking, the Minister said that laboratory test so far conducted indicated no symptoms of Ebola , Lassa fever nor Coronavirus.
According to him, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) had activated an Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) to coordinate response activities in conjunction with Federal Medical Centre in Makurdi to ascertain the nature of the illness.
Responding to questions on the efforts the government is making in ensuring that the Coronavirus is kept at bay from Nigeria, Dr. Ehanire reiterated that, for now, there is no suspected coronavirus case in Nigeria.
He noted that Nigeria had developed enough capacity to detect and isolate any Coronavirus case, especially at international entry points to the country.
He disclosed that the Africa Centre for Disease Control (ACDC),World Health Organization (WHO),and other partners provided scientific and technical support to Nigeria to strengthen its preparedness efforts for the new 2019-nCoV.
The minister said that the country had agreed an initial national case definition to identify suspected cases.
“NCDC, Port Health Services and State Epidemiologists were aware of the process for identification and confirmation.
“We‘ll review these criteria as additional information on CoV2019 becomes available,” Ehanire said.
He said that NCDC has continued to make advisories available to Nigerians on the novel coronavirus and how to protect themselves and had also published Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) to keep Nigerians informed.
“Since the emergence of the coronavirus, we have been working everyday to learn as quickly as possible about this new virus.
“Ongoing research on its transmissibility and virulence will determine our response across Nigeria,” he stressed.
He, therefore, advised Nigerians that if they experience symptoms of coronavirus such as respiratory illness, restlessness or cough within 14 days of travel to China they should contact NCDC immediately on Its toll-free number on – 0800-970000-10.
