Share
Inioluwa Ogunleye
1 week ago
Overview
New virus: FG focuses on Lagos in fresh alert
The Director of Port Health Services, Dr Akpan Nse said the Points of Entry in the 36 states of the country, and the Federal Capital Territory have been alerted about the Human Metapneumovirus, with Lagos a top priority.
Nse, who disclosed this in an exclusive interview with The PUNCH, noted that the Port Health Services had commenced mass surveillance.
“We have notified every point of entry in the country, which we have even done as early as this week. In Nigeria, we have Port Health in all the states of the federation. So, we have notified the 36 states, and the FCT. Some states may not have seaports or airports, but they all have land borders. Travellers may come from the land borders, and they are all at alert, we sent the notice to all the states of the federation, and we have the presence of Port Health officers working in all the states.
“Then, we also prioritise the borders in the states. There are lots of international travels in Lagos, Abuja, Enugu, Kano, and Port-Harcourt, and flights come in two or three times, so we need to be very alert in all those five first. And the number one is Lagos, people will come by sea, by air, and by land. So, the borders there have to be well monitored, because it could come from the nearest state or county. We have to work day and night to ensure that we screen the immigrants.
