The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has assured Nigerians there is no need to panic over fears of an Ebola outbreak, stating that the country has the capacity to contain the virus if necessary.
Speaking on Channels Television on Thursday, May 21, the Head of Health Emergency Preparedness at the NCDC, Dr. Biodun Ogunniyi, said Nigeria is better prepared due to its previous experience with Ebola.
“There is no need to panic because fear k+lls more than de@th itself,” he said, noting that the country had already tested its response system during a scare last year.
He also recalled Nigeria’s successful handling of the 2014 Ebola outbreak, saying, “In less than 70 days, the country was able to wipe this virus out,” earning global commendation.
According to Ogunniyi, Nigeria now has stronger emergency response systems and improved laboratory capacity compared to 2014.
“The Bundibugyo Ebola Virus… is not new to us, so we have the system in place… to quickly coordinate ourselves through our Public Health Emergency Operation Centre,” he stated.
He added that the country now has laboratories across Nigeria, including national reference labs in Abuja and Lagos, capable of detecting the virus promptly.
His comments follow reports of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where 513 cases and 131 deaths have reportedly been recorded.
0 Comments
DISCLAIMER
The views and opinions expressed on this platform as comments were freely made by each person under his or her own volition or responsibility and were neither suggested nor dictated by the owners of News PLATFORM or any of their contracted staff. So we take no liability whatsoever for such comments.
Please take note!