4 July 2009
Lagos — Following the World Health Organisation's advice for countries to be extra-vigilant and strengthen their disease surveillance to ensure prompt detection, Minister of Health, Professor Babatunde Osotimehin, has tasked the media to sustain the level of awareness about the A(H1N1) Influenza among the citizenry of the country.
Osotimehin made the call during a press conference by the ministry in Abuja following the confirmation of 10 cases of the new flu virus in five African countries of Cape Verde, Algeria, Ethiopia and Cote d'Ivoire and South Africa where the first confirmed case of the virus was reported on June 18 and 29.
The minister emphasised that given the prevailing health challenges facing the region, it was vital that every effort was made to strengthen surveillance and treatment to limit spread of the disease. He assures that all the cases so far confirmed in the region was promptly detected and confirmed by the surveillance system and laboratory facilities available locally and regionally.
"Community sensitization and mobilisation should be intensified as well as precautionary actions such as washing with soup and other protective measures, with the assistance of development partners like the WHO, he said Government will continue to support surveillance and strengthening of influenza laboratory facilities in the country to ensure rapid detection and investigation of pandemic H1N1 2009" He added.
It would be recalled that on June 11, the WHO raised the pandemic level to Phase 6 to reflect the fact that there were ongoing community level outbreaks in various parts of the world. Globally as at today, 112 countries have reported 59814 laboratory confirmed cases of the pandemic A H1N1 2009 virus with 263 deaths.
Consignments of antiviral (Tamiflu) drugs as well as Personal Protective Equipment (PPES) have already been dispatched to each country in the region including Nigeria to enable them respond rapidly to initial cases.
The symptoms of this novel virus typically include fever, cough, sore throat, headache, chills, fatigue and body aches. People are reminded to seek immediate medical attention if they experience these symptoms especially those who have chronic medical problems.
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