Another foreigner allegedly suffering from Ebola virus was yesterday arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos. The late Liberian Patrick Sawyer had brought the dreaded disease to Nigeria when he made the infamous trip to the country through the same airport.
The woman, suspected to be infected with the dreaded Ebola virus disease was arrested by operatives when she disembarked from an Air Morok flight. The unnamed woman was said to have showed signs that she might be a victim of the virus after the virus test was conducted on her by port health officials.
But there were conflicting reports over the nationality of the woman; some said she is from South Africa while others claimed that she is from Liberia. Her arrest was confirmed to our correspondent by an airport worker who refused to be named. According to the source, the suspected Ebola patient, a transit passenger, has since been taken out of the airport by health workers for further investigations.
No port health official could be reached to confirm the story because they have been instructed not to speak on the issue unless there is a clearance from the minister of health in Abuja. When correspondents contacted Yakubu Dati, spokesman for aviation agencies, to confirm the story, he said the issues of Ebola are not within the purview of airport workers or the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, adding that it was only the port health officials who could speak on the issue because they are the ones with the responsibility to screen in-bound and out-bound passengers at the airport.
As the sensitization on Ebola outbreak and preventive measures continues to grow across Nigeria by the day, the Nigeria Port Health yesterday at the Illela border of sokoto State said it stopped no fewer than 42 people from travelling to and from Nigeria for resisting preliminary medical assessment.
Making the disclosure, a staff of the Port Health and one of those manning the Illela border, Mr Efe Megbuwe, said among those denied movement were 15 Nigerians who refused to be checked before leaving the country for Niger Republic and 27 nationals of Niger Republic. “We often send those who resist check-up back to their country. Just within the last two weeks, we have denied about 15 Nigerians access to travel outside the country because they declined to be scanned. We equally sent back 27 people from neighbouring Niger Republic who wanted to enter Nigeria but refused to be scanned,” he said.
On the detective apparatus being used at the border, he said despite that the federal government has done well by providing protective kits and a thermo-scanner that detects body temperature, a lot more needed to be done on logistics such as patrol vehicles to enable them monitor the borders effectively, just as he advised that organizing sensitization programmes for all border communities will be of unimaginable advantage in the struggle against EVD. Culled from: www.leadership.ng
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