The Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS, says it is taking swift action to ensure that Ebola Virus does not enter the country following a fresh outbreak of the disease in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
A spokesperson for the NIS, Sunday James, who made this known to newsmen in Abuja, said immigration officials would tighten vigilance at airports and make more use of thermometers to screen passengers. ”We are sending a signal to all entry points in the country. The intention is to ensure that any suspected case can be promptly handed over to health officials at the airports.”
Last Wednesday, the Federal Executive Council, FEC, directed the Ministry of Health to step up surveillance at the nation’s borders, following reports of a fresh outbreak of the Ebola Virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC. The Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole, made the Council’s directive known while briefing State House correspondents after a meeting presided over by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo.
Reports said the latest outbreak in Bikoro town, northwest of the DRC, has already recorded two confirmed cases of the virus and seventeen deaths. It will be recalled that more than eleven thousand people died of the disease in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone in 2014.
According to the World Health Organisation, WHO, Ebola virus which is a severe, often fatal illness in humans, is transmitted to people from wild animals and spreads through person-to-person contact.
