There is no case of the dreaded Ebola Virus Disease, EVD, in Nigeria, the Federal Government has declared.
The declaration was made on Wednesday by the Permanent secretary, Federal Ministry of Health, Abdullaziz Mashi Abdullahi.
He spoke in reaction to the apprehension expressed by the public following the outbreak of the disease and efforts to battle it in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the tension created by the alleged case in Kenya.
Abdullahi called on Nigerians to disregard the rumour of Ebola in the country, saying it was capable of causing harm and unnecessary anxiety.
“I can say categorically that none of the patients screened tested positive for Ebola or any deadly disease,” he said in a statement issued in Abuja.
News of ebola in Nigeria became rife following the arrival of a female at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, onboard a Kenya Airways flight on Monday.
She was said to have the symptoms of high fever.
Her temperature which was said to be detected by surveillance team caused panic.
But denying the presence of ebola in the country, Abdullahi explained that after the outbreak of the virus in DRC, surveillance had been intensified at Nigeria’s entry points by health officials.
He stated that a recent preliminary risk assessment conducted by the Nigeria Ebola Preparedness team, coordinated by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), indicated that the overall risk of EVD importation to Nigeria from the DRC and Uganda was low.
The assessment, he said, was carried out in accordance with the guidelines of the World Health Organisation (WHO).
He emphasised that the ministry would continue to do its best to ensure that the health of Nigerians were protected.
