Nigerian Government on Tuesday assured the people that there is no outbreak of Ebola yet in the country.
What have been recorded in the country are cases of Denger Heamorrhagic Fever caused by a virus named Dengue Fever Virus (DFV), the Minister of State for Health, Dr. Khaliru Alhassan said.
However, he cautioned the people against consumption of bush and smoked meat, as the Ebola and Denger fevers could be contacted through indiscriminate eating of smoked meat.
Dr. Alhassan told journalists in Abuja that the activities of the mosquitoes (Aedes albopictus) that transmit this virus are being closely monitored nationwide by the Arbovirus Research Centre of the Federal Ministry of Health based in Enugu.
According to the minister, the symptoms of the disease include “headache, fever, exhaustion, severe muscle and joint pain, swollen lymph nodes and rashes.”
He said further, “at the outset of the disease, it mimics malaria and, often so, it is mistakenly diagnosed as Malaria. However, other signs of Denger fever which include gums, bloody diarrhoea, bleeding from the nose and severe pain behind the eyes, red palms and soles differentiate it from malaria.”
He however assured Nigerians that the Federal Government is working round the clock to arrest the spread.
Alhassan said surveillance activities are being intensified through the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), saying “All our port health posts and medical centres have been put on high alert to screen travellers from countries with confirmed Ebola fever occurrence.
“Nigerian citizens travelling to these countries are advised to be careful and should report any illness with the above symptoms to the nearest health facility.”
Speaking, the Director General of NCDC, Prof. Abdul Nasidi, said “those who eat bush meat don’t get the disease, but those who hunt and process the meat get the disease, and those who eat smoked meat are also prone t getting the virus.”
