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From Jonas Ike, Abuja
The Federal Government has described as false, the message circulating in the social media purporting a positive case of Ebora Virus Disease (EVD) in the country.
Permenent Secretary Ministry of Health Mr Abdulaziz Mashi Abdulalahi who spoke on this called on members of the public to disregard the rumour and discourage the circulation of any unverified information which he said could cause harm to innocent people and cause unnecessary panic among the citizens.
He assured that since the report of the outbreak of EVD in the Democratic Republic of Congo, heightened surveillance had been on-going at the various points of entry by officials of the Port Health Services division of the Ministry to prevent importation into Nigeria.
According to him, every sick passenger has been properly screened and “I can say categorically that none of the patients screened has tested positive for Ebola or any other deadly disease.”
The Permanent Secretary noted that in line with World Health Organization WHO’s guidelines, a recent preliminary risk assessment conducted by 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 assured that the Nigeria Government remained fully committed while working closely with WHO State Ministries of Health, patners and all other stakeholders to protect the health of Nigerians.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health in a statement signed by its Director Media and Public Relations Boade Akinola also maintained that necessary protocols are being followed in line with International Health Regulations forestall the resurgence of the deadly virus.
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