Ebola: WHO deploys experts in Nigeria

The World Health Organisation on Saturday said it had deployed experts
in Nigeria to help with safe handling of the remains of Patrick
Sawyer, the Liberian who died of Ebola virus disease on Friday.

WHO said this in a tweet from its African regional office.

"The national authority in Nigeria is working closely with the WHO and
partners to ensure that this incident case is contained at the
source," it said in another statement.

In its latest update on the Ebola virus, the body also said 96 new
cases and seven deaths were reported from Liberia and Sierra Leone
between July 21 and 23.

Sawyer, who reportedly worked with the finance ministry in Liberia,
became the first case of Ebola to be confirmed in Nigeria since its
outbreak in other parts of West Africa - Liberia, Sierra Leone and
Guinea.

Sawyer had arrived in Lagos on July 20 via the Murtala Mohammed
International Airport. He died later after he was admitted to a
private hospital in the state. Officials of the Lagos State ministry
of health said he had been put under close surveillance.

Meanwhile, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria has said it has
taken various steps to secure the nation's airports from the deadly
Ebola virus. According to FAAN, the rising cases of Ebola in West
Africa has become a source of concern to the authority and to this
end, international airports have been placed on red-alert.

Speaking in an interview with our correspondent on Saturday, the
General Manager, Corporate Communications, FAAN, Mr. Yakubu Dati,
stated that screening centres had already been set up especially at
the international airports to screen every incoming passenger,
especially those from countries where the virus had been recorded.

He added that airlines operating both domestic and international
flights had also been alerted to be on their guard as regards the
virus.

He said, "We have set up screening centres around our airport to
ensure that every passenger that comes in is thoroughly screened. Also
for the first time, we have asked airlines to be involved in this
screening process. We are also insisting that passengers from
countries where yellow fever documents are required present this on
entry into the country.

"FAAN on its part will also screen all the manifest of all the
airlines and we are in the process of setting up a 'holding area' at
the airport such that if we detect any suspected case, such a person
would be isolated there."

Also, the Public Relations Officer, the Nigerian Immigration Service,
Emeka Obua, said NIS personnel at the airports, seaports and land
borders had been issued an advisory by the Ministry of Health, to
watch out for anyone coming into the country with symptoms of the
Ebola disease.

He further said that the NIS personnel had been cautioned to wear hand
gloves and limit their contacts with people coming into the country.

They are also working closely with Port Health officials who know
exactly the symptoms to look out for in people. Anyone who is
suspected of having the disease would be quarantined and taken to the
hospital for evaluation; we are not taking any chances."

Meanwhile, experts have also called on Nigeria's health authorities to
establish effective disease surveillance around the country borders to
prevent any infection in the populace.

In an interview with our correspondent on Saturday, a veterinarian
virologist and President of the Nigerian Academy of Science, Prof.
Oyewale Tomori, said an effective disease surveillance system at the
country's airports and borders was necessary to prevent such incidents
in the future.

He said, "The case (of the Liberian) we found was by chance and not by
preparedness. If the man had not been sick on arrival in Lagos, he
could have gone to Calabar, which was his destination. And if he had
fallen sick in Calabar, I'm not sure people would have detected the
exact cause of his illness, and that would have created more
problems."

Although he commended the Federal Government for acting decisive when
the case was discovered, Tomori called on the health authorities to be
more proactive than to wait for chance or luck to detect an infected
person.

"The country's disease surveillance system must be up and doing. We
cannot wait for chance or luck to detect, especially when it is known
that many Nigerians travel to and from these affected countries. So,
we should have set in place in motion these measures. We must put
every effort to ensure that detect them as soon as possible."