PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan and
his entourage will be subjected to
tests for the deadly ebola virus by US
health officials when they arrive in
Washington DC tomorrow for a
special African/American Leaders
Summit.
Over recent weeks, about 1,300
people have been infected with the
deadly ebola virus disease (EVD)
currently sweeping across West
Africa. Sierra Leone, Guinea and
Liberia have been the worst affected
countries, with almost 800 people
dying from the virus that has a 90%
casualty rate and no known cure.
This week, President Jonathan and
several African leaders will be
attending a special summit in
Washington called by President
Barack Obama and fearful that they
may be carrying the virus, US health
officials plan to screen them.
President Obama explained that the
action would be taken to protect the
US from any outbreak of the disease.
President Obama said: “Folks who are
from these countries that have even a
marginal risk, or an infinitesimal risk
of having been exposed in some
fashion, we’re making sure we’re
doing screening." Already, the
presidents of Liberia and Sierra
Leone, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and
Ernest Bai Koroma, have said they
will not be able to attend the summit
due to the severity of the outbreak in
their countries.
Meanwhile, Professor Oyewole
Tomori, a virologist and president of
the Nigerian Academy of Science, has
warned that the porous nature of
Nigerian hospitals would allow the
disease to spread easily between
patients and health workers. He also
criticised the government's handling
of the case of Liberian Patrick
Sawyer, which caught Nigeria
unawares, as the country was not
prepared enough for the disease.
Professor Tomori said: “In an ideal
situation, there is no need to close
the border and as a matter of fact,
there are too many entry points into
the country, so how many of these
can be closed? But beyond closing
the borders is the actual state of
preparedness.
"The truth of the matter is we’re not
prepared. Also, the government needs
to collaborate with private medical
laboratory facilities."
There are about 1,479 illegal routes
into Nigeria, through which
smugglers, illegal immigrants and
terrorists have been infiltrating the
country. Despite having immigration
and health officers who man 114
regular border posts, the level of
territorial management has been
described as inadequate to protect
the country from the ebola virus.
Illegal immigrants from Chad, Mali,
Niger, Cameroun, Togo, Benin
Republic and other countries, who
find Nigeria as an attractive
destination, may quicken the spread
of the deadly disease. Last Sunday,
the federal government ordered the
setting up of disease isolation
centres at international airports
across Nigeria.
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