Nigeria’s Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on Wednesday said it is on a high alert following Ghana’s confirmation of two cases of the deadly and Marburg virus, reported The BBC.
The World Health Organization (WHO confirmed the outbreak of Marburg virus in Ghana earlier this week. The cases were reported in two unrelated males – 26 and a 51 years old – who both died from the disease.
Dozens of their contacts have been quarantined, but some have already been discharged, according to Ghanaian health authorities.
In a statement, the NCDC says Nigeria has the resources for prompt identification and management in the event of a single imported case. It said that the medical authorities have been placed on standby and surveillance had been heightened.
Nigeria’s top health agency said that so far no case of the virus has been reported in the country but the overall risk of importation was moderate. However, several measures are being put in place to prevent an outbreak of the disease in the country. The point of entry surveillance has been heightened, trained rapid response teams are on standby to be deployed in the event of an outbreak and the NCDC’s Incident Coordination Centre (ICC) is in alert mode.
According to the NCDC, Nigeria has the capacity to test for the virus presently at the National Reference Laboratory in Abuja and the University of Lagos Teaching Hospital laboratory Centre for Human and Zoonotic Virology.
Nigeria’s health authorities have advised people to avoid non-essential travel to locations where the outbreak has been reported, avoid direct contact with blood, saliva, vomit, urine, and other bodily fluids of people with suspected or confirmed Marburg virus disease as well as avoid the animal reservoir (fruit bats), and other sick animals.
There is currently no treatment or vaccine for the virus, however, infected persons can benefit from supportive care and treatment of specific symptoms which improve the chances of survival.
