Nigeria records first Coronavirus case
Nigeria has recorded its first case of Coronavirus after an Italian national tested positive to the virus, the Federal Ministry of Health has said
The case was confirmed on Thursday
“The case is an Italian citizen who entered Nigeria on the 25th of February from Milan, Italy for a brief business visit. He fell ill on the 26th February and was transfered to Lagos State Biosecurity Facilities for isolation and testing,” the Lagos State Ministry of Health also said in a statement.
“#COVID2019 infection was confirmed by the Virology Laboratory of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital @LUTHofficial, part of the Laboratory Network of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control @NCDCgov.
“The patient is clinically stable, with no serious symptoms, and is being managed at the Infectious Disease Hospital (Mainland Hospital) in Yaba, Lagos.”
It is the third reported case of Coronavirus in Africa after Egypt and Algeria; the suspect in the former, a foreigner, later tested negative to the virus. In Algeria, an Italian who arrived Algiers on February 17 tested positive.
On Wednesday, the Lagos State government had announced that a Chinese national suspected to have the virus tested negative.
The Federal Ministry of Health has confirmed a coronavirus(Covid-19) case in Lagos State Nigeria. The case which was confirmed on 27/02/2020 is the first case to be reported in Nigeria since the beginning of the outbreak in China in January 2020 @WHO @BBCWorld #CoronaVirusUpdates pic.twitter.com/uF79NYzvAz
— Federal Ministry of Health, NIGERIA (@Fmohnigeria) February 27, 2020
The Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) is spreading fast across three continents of the world as the World Health Organisation (WHO) revealed in its reports on Sunday, that the deadly virus has spread to nine other states; including countries in Europe and America.
The WHO report monitored late on Sunday said twenty-three confirmed cases have been reported outside of China in nine countries. These countries include Thailand with the highest of four cases, Australia with three cases, Republic of Korea has two cases, Japan three, Vietnam has two cases, France has three cases, the United States of America has two cases, Singapore has three and Nepal has only one confirmed case of 2019-nCoV.
The report however detailed that only one of the confirmed cases have no travel link with China, as 22 of them have a travel history to Wuhan city in China.
However, the latest situation report by the WHO said 41 persons have been reported dead in China, out of the 1,320 confirmed cases for novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) globally. It further revealed that 39 of the deaths were recorded in Hubei province, one death in Hebei province and one in Heilongjiang province.
The report stated that as at 25th January 2020, the number of reported confirmed cases of 2019-nCoV increased by 474 cases since the last situation report published on 24 January 2020.
The WHO however, insisted that based on an assessment of the risk of 2019-nCoV, it remains very high in China, “high at the regional level and moderate at the global level.”
The NCDC called for verification of reports and called on the citizenry to remain calm as Novel Coronavirus was not as deadly as being painted by the media and as some experts are already likening it to the Ebola virus which had a high fatality rate.
It said: “As we watch CNN and read all the experts in newspapers, a call for caution, please. The media may be escalating anxiety with headlines talking of a ‘killer virus’ + ‘growing fears.’ In truth, from what we currently know, the 2019-nCoV has moderate transmissibility and relatively low pathogenicity.
“For instance, as at 11th of January, the Wuhan County in China confirmed only 1 death out of 41 confirmed cases of the nCoV disease, as compared to an average case fatality rate (CFR) of 50% for Ebola, meaning about 20 out of 40 people infected with Ebola die. In fact, WHO said CFR for Ebola has varied from 25% to 90% in past outbreaks. So think about this before you say deadly.
“Actually, there is no reason to foster panic with exaggerated language./WHO has been very proactive and measured. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has repeatedly reiterated that they are working with WHO daily.
“The NCDC confirmed they have a dedicated team synthesising information on global developments around the virus to assess the risk for Nigeria and advise for informed decision making. Nigerians, we need each other at this time. Do not spread news you have not personally verified.”