The first positive case of Coronavirus has been confirmed in West Africa, Nigeria, after two earlier suspected cases tested negative in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire.
Nigeria’s Health Minister, Dr. Emmanuel Osagie Ehanire, in a statement confirmed the novel Coronavirus case was recorded in Lagos state.
“The case which was confirmed on 27/02/2020 is the first to be reported in Nigeria since the beginning of the outbreak in China in January 2020,” the statement said.
It explained that the case involved an Italian citizen, who returned from Milan, Italy to Nigeria where he works on February, 25, 2020.
“He was confirmed by the virology laboratory of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, part of the laboratory network of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.”
The patient is clinically stable with no serious symptoms and is being managed at the infectious diseases hospital in Yaba Lagos,” the statement held.
The populous West African country’s Health Ministry averred it has already started working to identify all contacts of the patient since he entered the country for the necessary actions to be taken to prevent the further spread of the virus.
“I wish to assure all Nigerians that have we have been beefing up our preparedness capabilities since the first confirmation of cases in China and we will use all the resources made available by the government to respond to this case,” said Dr. Ehanire.
Before the recent cases, African countries were found to be at moderate to high risk of importation of the virus and considered to have a relatively low capacity to manage the health emergency.
Nigeria was among thirteen priority countries in Africa identified by the World Health Organization as being at high risk of getting the virus because of their established links or frequent travel to and from China.
Since its detection in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, the novel coronavirus, also called COVID-19, has claimed more than 2,700 lives and has infected over 80,000 people across almost 50 countries.
About Covid-19
The novel coronavirus is caused by a member of the coronavirus family that has never been encountered before.
Like other coronaviruses, it comes from animals and many of the first cases were of people who either worked or frequently shopped in the Huanan seafood wholesale market in the centre of Wuhan.
The novel coronavirus is airborne and symptoms begin to manifest after 14 days.
A person could transmit the disease before symptoms begin to manifest.
Precautions recommended include regular hand washing, using a hand sanitizer, using a nose mask and avoiding contact or proximity with infected persons.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri