There are fresh fears that porous Nigerian land borders may thwart the Federal Government’s efforts to check the spread of the pernicious Ebola virus in the country.
Saturday PUNCH’s investigations revealed that the porosity of Nigerian land borders exposed the country to the peril of the pernicious disease.
At the last count, there are about 1,479 illicit routes into Nigeria through which smugglers, undocumented immigrants and terrorists have been infiltrating the country.
Checks withal show that port health officials, who are conventionally 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 obstruction.
Findings revealed that the 114 conventional border posts manned by immigration and health officers, were inadequate to bulwark 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 utilizing the international land borders do not have the document.
Investigations by Saturday PUNCH designated that the Nigerian Immigration Accommodation, with 23,000 workers, and other security agencies do not have the manpower, material resources and capacity to secure even the mundane licit and massive borders and avert infiltration of the country by immigrants infected with Ebola disease.
Thus, infected persons, who do not show symptoms of the virus can facilely enter through the land borders as the pernicious Ebola disease may not be conspicuous 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 alluring destination for illicit 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 accommodation personnel, Saturday PUNCH’s investigation showed that they were not given enough equipment that could avail 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, excruciating impuissance, muscle pain, headache and sore throat.
These are followed by regurgitating, 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, verbalized that Nigeria was at the peril of the disease through land borders.
Adesanya verbalized the Federal Government should establish Ebola quarantine centres at land borders like it did in airports.
He verbalized that the possibility of the disease permeating land borders is worse than air and sea ports because more people preferred roads as a mode of conveyance.
“Due to the long peregrinate 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-peregrinators,” he verbally expressed.
Advising Nigerians going through land borders, he verbally expressed, “Be conscientious and observe the same care; no physically contacting of anyone. If anybody manifests any of the symptoms, apprise the driver, evacuate the bus and get the person to the most proximate health facility which is to be isolated immediately.”
According to him, the Federal Ministry of Health should liaise with ECOWAS and the WHO to establish health posts along the ECOWAS highway.
On his component, the Vice -President of the Commonwealth Medical Association and former President of the Nigerian Medical Association, Dr. Osahon Enabulele, verbalized, “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 forms of kineticism 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 invigorating of the disease surveillance mechanisms at the land borders.
Enabulele verbally expressed, “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.”
Additionally a reproductive Endocrinologist, Prof Oladapo Ashiru, verbalized that the virus could permeate contact with infected blood or infected body fluid, eating infected meat, bush meat or monkey.
He verbally expressed, “Some patients may experience rashes, red ocular perceivers, hiccups, cough, sore throat, chest pain, breathing arduousness or arduousness 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 prevalent, the average is 5 – 8 days afore becoming ill.
“Some who become sick with Ebola virus are able to recuperate while others do not and the reasons abaft this are not yet plenarily understood.
“However, it is kenned that patients who die conventionally have not developed a consequential immune replication to the virus at the time of death,” he integrated.
He withal advised Nigerians to ascertain frequent utilization of sanitisers, exercise care in contact with bodily fluids, utilization of soap and sanitiser on getting to the house afore shaking hands, and that meat sellers should quarantine their meats for some time afore slaughtering.
Ashiru verbally expressed that sanitisers should be in cars, ladies’ hand bags and around the office places, integrating 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 opportunely stored,” he verbally expressed.
According to the United States Department of State, you cannot contract Ebola virus by handling mazuma, buying local bread or swimming in a pool.
Saturday PUNCH’s investigations revealed that the porosity of Nigerian land borders exposed the country to the peril of the pernicious disease.
At the last count, there are about 1,479 illicit routes into Nigeria through which smugglers, undocumented immigrants and terrorists have been infiltrating the country.
Checks withal show that port health officials, who are conventionally 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 obstruction.
Findings revealed that the 114 conventional border posts manned by immigration and health officers, were inadequate to bulwark 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 utilizing the international land borders do not have the document.
Investigations by Saturday PUNCH designated that the Nigerian Immigration Accommodation, with 23,000 workers, and other security agencies do not have the manpower, material resources and capacity to secure even the mundane licit and massive borders and avert infiltration of the country by immigrants infected with Ebola disease.
Thus, infected persons, who do not show symptoms of the virus can facilely enter through the land borders as the pernicious Ebola disease may not be conspicuous 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 alluring destination for illicit 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 accommodation personnel, Saturday PUNCH’s investigation showed that they were not given enough equipment that could avail 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, excruciating impuissance, muscle pain, headache and sore throat.
These are followed by regurgitating, 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, verbalized that Nigeria was at the peril of the disease through land borders.
Adesanya verbalized the Federal Government should establish Ebola quarantine centres at land borders like it did in airports.
He verbalized that the possibility of the disease permeating land borders is worse than air and sea ports because more people preferred roads as a mode of conveyance.
“Due to the long peregrinate 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-peregrinators,” he verbally expressed.
Advising Nigerians going through land borders, he verbally expressed, “Be conscientious and observe the same care; no physically contacting of anyone. If anybody manifests any of the symptoms, apprise the driver, evacuate the bus and get the person to the most proximate health facility which is to be isolated immediately.”
According to him, the Federal Ministry of Health should liaise with ECOWAS and the WHO to establish health posts along the ECOWAS highway.
On his component, the Vice -President of the Commonwealth Medical Association and former President of the Nigerian Medical Association, Dr. Osahon Enabulele, verbalized, “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 forms of kineticism 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 invigorating of the disease surveillance mechanisms at the land borders.
Enabulele verbally expressed, “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.”
Additionally a reproductive Endocrinologist, Prof Oladapo Ashiru, verbalized that the virus could permeate contact with infected blood or infected body fluid, eating infected meat, bush meat or monkey.
He verbally expressed, “Some patients may experience rashes, red ocular perceivers, hiccups, cough, sore throat, chest pain, breathing arduousness or arduousness 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 prevalent, the average is 5 – 8 days afore becoming ill.
“Some who become sick with Ebola virus are able to recuperate while others do not and the reasons abaft this are not yet plenarily understood.
“However, it is kenned that patients who die conventionally have not developed a consequential immune replication to the virus at the time of death,” he integrated.
He withal advised Nigerians to ascertain frequent utilization of sanitisers, exercise care in contact with bodily fluids, utilization of soap and sanitiser on getting to the house afore shaking hands, and that meat sellers should quarantine their meats for some time afore slaughtering.
Ashiru verbally expressed that sanitisers should be in cars, ladies’ hand bags and around the office places, integrating 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 opportunely stored,” he verbally expressed.
According to the United States Department of State, you cannot contract Ebola virus by handling mazuma, buying local bread or swimming in a pool.
Another expert, Dr. Rotimi Adesanya, verbally expressed “Health workers need to ascertain they are plenarily and macrocosmically forfended by wearing double gloves and safety goggles to obviate any transmission.”
The medical expert verbally expressed, “People need to get tissue paper, so that when they utilize it to cough, they discard it. Handkerchief is not advisable because when they utilize it, they put it back in their pockets and still utilize it moments later, thereby transferring it to others through handshakes.
“Hand washing at every point in time is additionally very paramount, be it after driving, emanating from public places, emanating 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 acceded to establish isolation disease centres at international airports in Nigeria.
The Coordinating General Manager, Aviation Parastatals, Mr. Yakubu Dati, had verbalized the Federal Government had commenced screening of international passengers suspected to have the virus.
The National Primary HealthCare Development Agency, told Saturday PUNCH that it had put its workers on the vigilant to check the disease.
But the Executive Director of the NPHCDA, Dr. Ado Muhammad, in an electronic mail to one of our correspondents, verbally expressed that the possibility of Ebola virus patients crossing land border was very eccentric.
The Director, Disease Control and Immunisation, Dr. Emmanuel Abanida, who sent the electronic mail on behalf of the executive director, verbally expressed, “The EVD runs a very rapid course. That denotes there’s no luxury of time for infected patients to genuinely roam about borders. That’s the truth.
“Contagiousness is virtually at the height of clinical illness and presentation by the infected individuals. Most sick individuals, therefore, may be too impuissant to crawl the border areas. The possibilities are however that crossing the land borders by patients are possible; this is thought to be very unorthodox.
“This posit, however, omits 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 verbalized, “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 Accommodation Public Relations Officer, Emeka Obua, assured that the accommodation was collaborating with the Ministry of Health to secure the borders and obviate infiltration by EBV carriers.
Obua verbalized that NIS personnel at the borders and airports had been issued hand gloves and masks to forfend them from contact with infected persons, integrating that they are working with health officials who kenned 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 circumscribe their exposure to such infected persons.
The medical expert verbally expressed, “People need to get tissue paper, so that when they utilize it to cough, they discard it. Handkerchief is not advisable because when they utilize it, they put it back in their pockets and still utilize it moments later, thereby transferring it to others through handshakes.
“Hand washing at every point in time is additionally very paramount, be it after driving, emanating from public places, emanating 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 acceded to establish isolation disease centres at international airports in Nigeria.
The Coordinating General Manager, Aviation Parastatals, Mr. Yakubu Dati, had verbalized the Federal Government had commenced screening of international passengers suspected to have the virus.
The National Primary HealthCare Development Agency, told Saturday PUNCH that it had put its workers on the vigilant to check the disease.
But the Executive Director of the NPHCDA, Dr. Ado Muhammad, in an electronic mail to one of our correspondents, verbally expressed that the possibility of Ebola virus patients crossing land border was very eccentric.
The Director, Disease Control and Immunisation, Dr. Emmanuel Abanida, who sent the electronic mail on behalf of the executive director, verbally expressed, “The EVD runs a very rapid course. That denotes there’s no luxury of time for infected patients to genuinely roam about borders. That’s the truth.
“Contagiousness is virtually at the height of clinical illness and presentation by the infected individuals. Most sick individuals, therefore, may be too impuissant to crawl the border areas. The possibilities are however that crossing the land borders by patients are possible; this is thought to be very unorthodox.
“This posit, however, omits 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 verbalized, “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 Accommodation Public Relations Officer, Emeka Obua, assured that the accommodation was collaborating with the Ministry of Health to secure the borders and obviate infiltration by EBV carriers.
Obua verbalized that NIS personnel at the borders and airports had been issued hand gloves and masks to forfend them from contact with infected persons, integrating that they are working with health officials who kenned 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 circumscribe their exposure to such infected persons.
