There
are fresh fears that porous Nigerian land borders may thwart the
Federal Government’s efforts to check the spread of the deadly Ebola
virus in the country.
investigations revealed that the porosity of Nigerian land borders exposed the country to the risk of the deadly disease.
At the last count, there are about 1,479
illegal routes into Nigeria through which smugglers, undocumented
immigrants and terrorists have been infiltrating the country.
Checks also show that port health
officials, who are usually deployed by the ministry of health in border
points, are not available at many of the unauthorised routes where
individuals infected with Ebola virus could access the country without
let or hindrance.
Findings revealed that the 114 regular
border posts manned by immigration and health officers, were inadequate
to protect the country from Ebola virus which could be imported into the
country through infected migrants and even documented visitors.
Although visitors to Nigeria are expected
to possess the International Health Certificate (Yellow card),
investigations show that most foreigners using the international land
borders do not have the document.
Investigations by reporters
indicated that the Nigerian Immigration Service, with 23,000 workers,
and other security agencies do not have the manpower, material resources
and capacity to secure even the normal legal and massive borders and
prevent infiltration of the country by immigrants infected with Ebola
disease.
Thus, infected persons, who do not show
symptoms of the virus can easily enter through the land borders as the
deadly Ebola disease may not be obvious to the health officials and
immigration personnel at land borders.
Nigeria, being a hub of economic
activities in the West African sub-region, is an attractive destination
for illegal migrants from Chad, Mali, Niger, Cameroun, Togo, Benin
Republic and other countries.
Though the Federal Government had issued a health advisory to port health officers and the immigration service personnel,
investigation showed that they were not given enough equipment that
could assist them in the task of identifying and isolating infected
persons coming into the country.
Ebola is an acute viral illness and often characterised by fever, intense weakness, muscle pain, headache and sore throat.
These are followed by vomiting,
diarrhoea, rash, impaired kidney and liver function, and in some cases,
both internal and external bleeding.
Experts, including the Medical Director,
Clinical Research Physician, United States, Dr. Hezekiah Adesanya, said
that Nigeria was at the risk of the disease through land borders.
Adesanya said the Federal Government should set up Ebola quarantine centres at land borders like it did in airports.
He stated that the possibility of the
disease spreading through land borders is worse than air and sea ports
because more people preferred roads as a mode of transportation.
“Due to the long travel from Liberia to
Nigeria in cramped and close proximity, potentially infected people have
more time to interact and opportunities to “touch” and therefore spread
to co-travellers,” he stated.
Advising Nigerians going through land
borders, he said, “Be careful and observe the same care; no touching of
anyone. If anybody manifests any of the symptoms, inform the driver,
evacuate the bus and get the person to the nearest health facility which
is to be isolated immediately.”
According to him, the Federal Ministry of
Health should liaise with ECOWAS and the WHO to set up health posts
along the ECOWAS highway.
On his part, the Vice -President of the
Commonwealth Medical Association and former President of the Nigerian
Medical Association, Dr. Osahon Enabulele, said, “Indubitably, there is a
possible risk of Ebola Viral Disease spreading to Nigeria on account of
the highly active migration activities at all of Nigeria’s land
borders, including the active and unrestricted movements of immigrants
from afflicted African countries such as Guinea, Sierra-Leone, Liberia
and Ghana.”
He called for the re-orientation of the
Nigerian border patrol and health staff as well as the strengthening of
the disease surveillance mechanisms at the land borders.
Enabulele stated, “The spread can further
be buoyed through contact by uninfected persons with persons infected
with the Ebola Virus following contact with infected bodily fluids,
blood and blood products or the consumption of infected animal meat
products by unsuspecting persons migrating through Nigeria’s land
borders.”
Also a reproductive Endocrinologist, Prof
Oladapo Ashiru, said that the virus could spread through contact with
infected blood or infected body fluid, eating infected meat, bush meat
or monkey.
He stated, “Some patients may experience
rashes, red eyes, hiccups, cough, sore throat, chest pain, breathing
difficulty or difficulty in swallowing things, internal and external
bleeding. The symptoms may appear between 2 to 21 days after exposure to
Ebola virus, though 8-10 days is most common, the average is 5 – 8 days
before becoming ill.
“Some who become sick with Ebola virus
are able to recover while others do not and the reasons behind this are
not yet fully understood.
“However, it is known that patients who
die usually have not developed a significant immune response to the
virus at the time of death,” he added.
He also advised Nigerians to ensure
frequent use of sanitisers, exercise care in contact with bodily fluids,
use of soap and sanitiser on getting to the house before shaking hands,
and that meat sellers should quarantine their meats for some time
before slaughtering.
Ashiru said that sanitisers should be in
cars, ladies’ hand bags and around the office places, adding that care
should be taken when dealing with fresh fruits.
“Avoid ‘suya’ for now unless you are very
sure of the source of the meat; meat and other food items must be
frozen and properly stored,” he said.
According to the United States Department
of State, you cannot contract Ebola virus by handling money, buying
local bread or swimming in a pool.
Another expert, Dr. Rotimi Adesanya, said
“Health workers need to make sure they are fully and universally
protected by wearing double gloves and safety goggles to prevent any
transmission.”
The medical expert said, “People need to
get tissue paper, so that when they use it to cough, they throw it away.
Handkerchief is not advisable because when they use it, they put it
back in their pockets and still use it moments later, thereby
transferring it to others through handshakes.
“Hand washing at every point in time is
also very important, be it after driving, coming from public places,
coming from toilet because hand washing has been found to reduce any
form of germ drastically.”
The Federal Government, in a bid to check
the spread of the virus, had on Sunday agreed to set up isolation
disease centres at international airports in Nigeria.
The Coordinating General Manager,
Aviation Parastatals, Mr. Yakubu Dati, had said the Federal Government
had commenced screening of international passengers suspected to have
the virus.
The National Primary HealthCare Development Agency, told reporters that it had put its workers on the alert to check the disease.
But the Executive Director of the NPHCDA,
Dr. Ado Muhammad, in an email to one of our correspondents, said that
the possibility of Ebola virus patients crossing land border was very
unusual.
The Director, Disease Control and
Immunisation, Dr. Emmanuel Abanida, who sent the email on behalf of the
executive director, stated, “The EVD runs a very rapid course. That
means there’s no luxury of time for infected patients to really roam
about borders. That’s the truth.
“Contagiousness is almost at the height
of clinical illness and presentation by the infected individuals. Most
sick individuals, therefore, may be too weak to crawl the border areas.
The possibilities are however that crossing the land borders by patients
are possible; this is thought to be very unusual.
“This assumption, however, excludes
localised practice of bush meat hunting and consumption, which are
controllable through intensified public/community enlightenment in the
border areas.”
Explaining efforts of the agency, he
said, “Guidelines have been issued to frontline(PHC) workers across the
country (especially health workers at the border areas) on the steps to
take in early warning signs, surveillance and case management of
case(s)/suspected case(s) of EVD.”
The Immigration Service Public Relations
Officer, Emeka Obua, assured that the service was collaborating with the
Ministry of Health to secure the borders and prevent infiltration by
EBV carriers.
Obua stated that NIS personnel at the
borders and airports had been issued hand gloves and masks to protect
them from contact with infected persons, adding that they are working
with health officials who knew the symptoms to look out for in infected
persons.
He noted that the men had been directed
to quarantine anyone that showed the symptoms of the disease and to
limit their exposure to such infected persons.
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