Ogun steps up surveillance across LGAs on Ebola virus

Following the recent discovery of another Ebola Virus Disease in Liberia, the Ogun State government has stepped up surveillance across the 20 local government areas of the state to guide against the importation of the disease.

The permanent secretary, Ministry of Health, Dr Daisi Odeniyi, stated this in a statement made available to newsmen in his office, at Oke- Mosan, Abeokuta.

Dr Odeniyi said currently, there is no ebola case in Nigeria, but to guide against any form of importation of the disease through international contacts, the state government had taken proactive measures to prevent the return of the disease.

The Ministry of Health had written a letter to all the local government councils in the state to step up surveillance in all the borders of the state.

He added that the community health personnel would also collaborate with the 20 local government officials to carry out the surveillance.

Citing the case of an infected victim who travelled from Lagos to Port- Harcourt then, he said community health workers who had earlier been trained by the ministry on how to handle such cases would work together with the officials of the local government across the state to ensure prevention.

According to him, the current administration-led by Senator Ibikunle Amosun, had put all equipment in place to handle any emergency cases, saying that the state could be vulnerable should the disease spread to Nigeria due to its status as gateway to West African countries.

Dr Odeniyi said the Governor remained committed to the well-being of the citizenry especially, on health issues, urging members of the public to remain calm and continue to maintain appropriate hygiene recommended by the ministry and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

“I like to use this opportunity to call on the members of the public not to panic, but should not relent on hand washing, general cleanliness of their environment and quickly report any suspected cases to the Ministry of Health at Oke-Mosan or the nearest health centre closer to them,” he said.