Rivers State Ministry of Health, on Tuesday, dismissed as false, insinuations on social media that there was a fresh outbreak of the dreaded Ebola Virus in the state.
Recall that social media platforms were awash with reports of Ebola outbreak in Rivers.
Yesterday I was told that a case of ebola was discovered in PortHarcourt. Today the FGhas ordered surveillance for ebola across the states which suggests that danger is looming.Can @MBuhari tell us the truth?Is ebola back in Nigeria?If so what plans does he have to deal with it?
— Femi Fani-Kayode (@realFFK) June 22, 2019
The ministry in a statement by its permanent secretary, Caroline Wali, said it received the report as a surprise, adding that the multi-sectoral state emergency operation centre raised her engagement and preparedness to the alert level for the purpose of mitigation and swift response in case of any eventuality.
According to her: “Although the National Centre for Disease and Control, NCDC, has categorised the risk of importation of Ebola to Nigeria as low, we have decided to commence mass re-sensitization, awareness and risk communication campaigns for the public, health personnel and first responders the interest of general public safety.
“In addition, we have in stock, sufficient quantities of commodities for case management and preventive interventions in the event of any challenges from haemorrhage fevers.
“We are working in collaboration with other relevant stakeholders including the NCDC, World Health Organization and the Ports Health Management of the Federal Ministry of Health to ensure that the required standard for screening, triage and containment are sufficiently enforced at the regular entry points in the state”
She explained that there is no cause for alarm as there is no case of Ebola in the state.
