Nigerian health officials say there are no Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) cases in the country, debunking false messages being circulated on social media.

Image/Robert Herriman

Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Health, Mr. Abdullaziz Mashi Abdullahi, called on members of the public to disregard the rumor and discourage the circulation of any unverified information, which he said, could cause harm to innocent people and unnecessary panic among the citizens.

Heightened surveillance had been on-going at the various points of entry by officials of the Port Health Services division of the Ministry to prevent importation into Nigeria since the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) outbreak began.

The Permanent Secretary noted that in line with WHO’s guidelines, a recent preliminary risk assessment conducted by the Nigeria Ebola Preparedness team, coordinated by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) indicated that the overall risk of importation of EVD to Nigeria from DRC and Uganda is low; but we are not resting on our laurels in view of trading activities of Nigerians.

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