Disregard Rumour Of Ebola Case In Nigeria, FG Tells Citizens

The Federal Government has called on Nigerians to disregard a message making the rounds claiming there is a positive case of the Ebola Virus Disease in the country.

A statement from the Federal Ministry of Health, quoted the Permanent Secretary, Mr Abdullaziz Mashi Abdullahi, as saying the message was false, could cause harm to innocent people, and create panic among citizens.

This comes amid concerns about the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and days after a scare in Kenya.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said the DRC outbreak which has claimed more than a 1,000 lives and spread to Uganda, killing two persons, is not a global health emergency.

Although Nigeria’s health ministry says there has been “heightened surveillance” at points of entry in view of the outbreak in DRC, it stressed that there is no cause for alarm.

‘’I can say categorically that none of the patients screened has tested positive for Ebola or any deadly disease,” Mr Abdullaziz Mashi Abdullahi was quoted as saying in the statement signed by the ministry’s Director of Media and Public Relations, Boade Akinola.

According to Abdullahi, in line with WHO’s guidelines, a recent preliminary risk assessment conducted by the Nigeria Ebola Preparedness team, coordinated by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) indicated that the overall risk of importation of EVD to Nigeria from Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda is low.

“But we are not resting on our oars in view of trading activities of Nigerians,” he added.

He assured Nigerians that the Nigerian Government remained fully committed, while working closely with the WHO, state ministries of health, partners and all other stakeholders, to protect the health them.

“Necessary protocols are being followed in line with International Health Regulations,” he said.

Nigeria had battled Ebola in 2014, recording 20 cases and eight deaths after an infected Liberian-American flew into the country.