By Uche Ike

The Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria, Cross River State branch, has called on the Federal Government to ensure that effective emergency response mechanism is put in place to prevent the possible outbreak of the Ebola virus in some parts of the country.

The state Chairman of the association, Ms Gloria Archibong who spoke at a one-day workshop for Medical Laboratory Scientists in Calabar, said it had become imperative for the Nigerian public to be properly educated as the threat was on the increase daily.

Ms Archibong said: “If it has come as close as Ghana and there has been report of another Liberian who flew into the country through Lagos, then it is only wise to put effective emergency response mechanism in place and also enlighten the people on its prevention because the virus has no cure for now.

“I also want to believe that the virus is not here. But the reason why Cross River State may be at risk is because we actually have bat-eating communities and we are a bush meat-eating people too.

“Fruit bats and monkeys are the major reservoirs of the virus, so there is need to sensitise our people. I want to appeal to both the Federal and state governments to make sure emergency response mechanism is put in place as soon as possible.”

Microbiologist speaks
A consultant medical microbiologist at the University of Calabar, Professor Michael Useh, who spoke with Vanguard on the development, said: “It is high time we took the virus serious. It was discovered in 1976 and has since been occurring and reoccurring. It is important we put measures in place to nip in the bud any form of outbreak.

“If it can come as close as Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Ghana, then we must be prepared; we must rigorously enlighten Nigerians because the mortality rate of the virus is about 90 percent and it has no known cure for now.

“For the fact that some species of bat are vectors, even though we have not carried out epidemiology test, we have high rain forest zones and when this virus was first discovered, it was carried by bat in a rainforest zone.
“We must establish centres where the virus can at least be diagnosed; we must educate Nigerians on the symptoms due to our porous borders, especially now that a carrier of the virus was contained in Lagos.”