The federal ministry of health said yesterday that Nigeria recorded its first case of Coronavirus after an Italian national tested positive for the virus.
It said the case was confirmed yesterday
“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 Lagos State ministry of health also confirmed the case in a statement.
“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 transferred to Lagos State Biosecurity Facilities for isolation and testing.
“#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 said.
It is the third reported case of coronavirus in Africa after Egypt and Algeria.
The suspect in Egypt, a foreigner, later tested negative for the virus while in Algeria, an Italian who arrived in Algiers on February 17 tested positive.
Meanwhile, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said that results of 11 other suspected cases of COVID-19 it conducted tested negative.
The director general of the agency, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu who stated this yesterday said the tests were conducted by the NCDC National Reference Laboratory and Virology Laboratory at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH).
“Four laboratories in Nigeria have the capacity to test for the coronavirus. These laboratories are within the NCDC laboratory network and are in contact with 24/7. If a new case is confirmed, it will be reported accordingly.
“We are in close communication with the Lagos State Ministry of Health and other states, and will inform the public once there’s a confirmed case in Nigeria,” he said.
Ihekweazu assured that the NCDC would continue to closely monitor the outbreak globally.
“We urge Nigerians to disregard rumours and discourage further spread. NCDC will inform the public if a case is reported in Nigeria,” he said.
The NCDC chief said that when a high-risk traveller with symptoms arrive in the country, they would be taken from the airport to an isolation centre and samples would be collected immediately for testing.
“If confirmed, appropriate management will commence but if negative, he/she would still be monitored for 14 days and retested.
“When a high-risk traveller that is not symptomatic comes into the country, the person is advised to stay at home for 14 days and report immediately if he/she develops symptoms.
“Furthermore, his contact details are obtained and an official is attached to him/her to monitor him daily for 14 days to see if he develops symptoms.
“If he develops symptoms within 14 days of arrival in the country, samples would be collected from him for confirmation.
“If confirmed he/she goes into our isolation centre where he would be managed appropriately,” he explained.
He described a high-risk traveller as someone who has had contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case or was travelling from China, particularly Wuhan.
The respiratory disease, which has killed over 2000 people, is capable of spreading through human-to-human contact, droplets carried through sneezing and coughing, and germs left on inanimate objects.
Symptoms of the disease can include a sore throat, runny nose, fever or pneumonia and can progress to multiple organ failure or death in some severe cases.
