The Anambra, Ebonyi and Enugu governments say they have activated all necessary response mechanisms to prevent the spread of Ebola Virus Disease.
They disclosed this in separate interviews while reacting to a survey on measures to prevent Ebola disease in the zone.
The World Health Organisation and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control had designated some states in the country as having a high importation rate due to the high volume of trade/travel routes, airports, and borders.
The NCDC has urged states with international airports and a high volume of interstate travel to set up emergency operation centres.
The Anambra government, however, said that although the state was not among the states classified as high-risk by the NCDC, the government was not taking chances in view of the state’s proximity to Enugu, which was listed among the high-risk states.
Its health commissioner, Afam Obidike, said the state had strengthened surveillance systems across health facilities, borders and communities, while health workers had been placed on alert to promptly detect and respond to any suspected case.
He added that emergency response teams had also been mobilised and public awareness campaigns would commence to educate residents on preventive measures.
The commissioner urged residents to maintain good hygiene practices, avoid unnecessary physical contact with sick persons and promptly report any suspected symptoms to the nearest health facility.
Mr Obidike reassured the public that the government was working closely with relevant health agencies to ensure the state remained free of the disease.
According to him, Governor Charles Soludo’s administration remains committed to safeguarding residents’ health and will continue to monitor developments while implementing all recommended preventive measures against Ebola.
The Enugu government stated that it had activated the Enugu State Public Health Emergency Operation Centre on Ebola Prevention. Its health commissioner, George Ugwu, said the EOC comprised major health stakeholders and partners.
Mr Ugwu noted that in the inaugural meeting on Monday, principal officers and leads of the various arms of the EOC were constituted and inaugurated. He said that the EOC also developed and established the incident management structure for the state.
The commissioner noted that it also identified response pillars, including surveillance, point-of-entry screening, risk communication, and training of frontline health workers, among others. He said that the centre also resolved to set up a functional isolation/holding facility at the Enugu State University Teaching Hospital Parklane, Enugu.
Mr Ugwu noted that the centre would be interfacing with and engaging officials and stakeholders at various entry points in the state to ensure seamless operations. The symptoms of the viral disease are: fever, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhoea, rash, bleeding and shock.
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In Ebonyi, the health commissioner, Moses Ekuma, said there was no Ebola case in the state. Mr Ekuma said that Ebonyi was prepared to avert any outbreak of Ebola in the state.
Mrr Ekuma said that the major cause of Ebola included the consumption of antelopes, Fruitbats, apes and monkeys. He charged the citizens to stop eating any of these that were not certified by veterinary doctors.
He advised Ebonyi residents to avoid direct contact with the blood and bodily fluids of an infected person, keep personal hygiene, avoid sex with an infected person, conduct safe burial of a person who died of Ebola and use government-approved vaccines.
The commissioner stated that awareness had been created among Ebonyi residents to report any case of Ebola in the state.
Uchenna Nelson, at the Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, said the hospital had no record of an Ebola case. He expressed a high level of preparedness to tackle the disease in the event of an outbreak.
(NAN)
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