NIS increases airport screenings to prevent Ebola outbreak

Palpable fear seems to have engulfed health authorities in Nigeria following fresh outbreak of Ebola virus disease in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

This outbreak started back in December, about 20 miles from the town of Bikoro, in the province of Equateur, north-west DR Congo.

However, an outbreak did leave 49 people dead in the Central African country that year.

Health Ministry Cabinet Secretary (CS) Sicily Kariuki said the measure is in line with global health standards to prevent the spread of the highly infectious deadly disease.

They are conducting tests, establishing a chronology of events, and working on identifying the reasons which could have led to this outbreak.

Two out of five samples collected tested positive for a Zaire strain of Ebola at the Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale in Kinshasa.

Federal Government has stepped up efforts at major worldwide airports to combat the spread of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) disclosed on Thursday.

Peter Salama, WHO deputy director-general, emergency preparedness and response, welcomed the United Kingdom support.

The Ebola virus causes an acute, serious illness which is often fatal if untreated.

Ebola is endemic to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. World Health Organization has also alerted neighbouring countries.

The Virus which is transmitted by bats was first discovered in DRC in 1976 and named after the Ebola River.

Ilunga told The Associated Press that the patient who died was a nurse.

Sawyer, a Liberian-American, died at a local hospital and infected several health workers including Stella Ameyo Adedavoh, a doctor who defied orders to allow him to leave the hospital and saved Nigeria from a mass outbreak in the process. “Cholera spreads when faeces and/or vomitus of an infected person contaminates the water or food of another person and it is swallowed”. He said the situation calls for an immediate and energetic response. This was well contained through the efficient coordination among the government, health department, worldwide partners and the WHO. Government experts will meet on Thursday to discuss measures to prevent the disease from crossing the border and spread to neighbouring countries.