The Federal Government has alerted all Federal Teaching Hospitals in the country on the resurgence of a deadly Ebola virus in West African country of Guinea – Conakry.
The directive was conveyed by the Federal Ministry of Health to the tertiary health institutions through an internal circular, dated April 19, 2021 and signed by the director of Health Planning, Research and Statistics, Dr. Ngozi Azodoh, on behalf of the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire.
According to the internal circular addressed to all heads of department and programmes in the ministry, with reference no: DHPRS/2/219/18/1, and exclusively obtained, the alert was necessitated by an earlier letter sent to the ministry by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, informing Nigeria of the resurgence of the virus in Guinea, which had devastated the country in the past.
The circular also revealed that based on the development, the Liberian government had also requested the relevant authorities in Nigeria to take necessary measures to avoid the further spread of the deadly virus.
“While the relevant Technical Department/Agencies are working on the National Response and instituting appropriate measures, you are to also be mindful of this outbreak and its implications to the West Africa (WA) sub region and be guided accordingly,” Azodoh said, adding that the circular be treated “as important”.
recall that earlier in February 2021, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) informed that Nigeria was placed at ‘moderate risk’ of Ebola outbreak.
The NCDC, through its website, had said that the decision was based on the proximity of Guinea-Conakry to Nigeria and other West African countries.
