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NCDC Raises Alarm, Says Nigeria At Risk Of Marburg Virus

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…Says Virus Can Be Transmitted By Infected Person Without Systoms

…Urges Nigerians To Maintain Social Distance 

 

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) says Nigeria is at moderate risk of the importation and impact of the Marburg virus ( MVD).

In a statement on Wednesday, the Director General of NCDC , Dr. Ifedayo Adetifa, said this is based on the organization’s assessment following the outbreak in Ghana.

The Marburg virus causes a rare, highly infectious disease and severe haemorrhagic fever in humans and non-human primates just like the Ebola virus.

Dr Adetifa said, “Based on available data, the overall risk of both importation of the disease and its potential impact on the Nigerian population is said to be moderate as assessed by NCDC experts and partners given the following:

“The proximity (same region), high traffic from Ghana and countries that share borders with Ghana, the incubation period of 21 days of the virus, heightened surveillance at point of entry, Nigeria’s capacity to respond to the outbreak in country and the fact that persons with MVD transmit the virus when they become symptomatic unlike for SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 that can also be transmitted by infected persons without symptoms.”

He said there was currently, no case of Marburg virus in Nigeria, adding that several measures are being put in place to prevent an outbreak of the disease in-country.

While saying that NCDC is on high alert, he said Nigeria has the capacity to test for the virus presently at the National Reference Laboratory in Abuja and the University of Lagos Teaching Hospital laboratory Centre for Human and Zoonotic Virology.

He said diagnostic capacity can be scaled up to other laboratories if required as Nigeria had the resources (human, technical and laboratory) for prompt identification and management in the event of a single imported case.

However, he said the risk of importation may be further reduced as the current situation in Ghana is under control as reported by Ghana Health Service.

According to him, point of entry surveillance has been heightened, trained rapid response teams are on standby to be deployed in the event of an outbreak and the NCDC’s Incident Coordination Centre (ICC) is on alert mode.

He said the NCDC is also amplifying risk communication efforts and continues to work with states and partners to strengthen preparedness activities which include– review of risk communication protocols, plans and messages in the event of an outbreak.

He advised Nigerians to avoid non-essential travel to locations where the outbreak is reported for the moment, and also avoid direct contact with blood, saliva, vomit, urine, and other bodily fluids of people with suspected or confirmed Marburg virus.

The outbreak in Ghana is the second incidence of the virus in West Africa following the previous incidence in Guinea in August 2021.

The disease was first discovered in 1967 following outbreaks in Marburg and Frankfurt in Germany, and Belgrade, Serbia.

Since then, outbreaks and sporadic cases have been reported in some African countries.

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“I Am Getting Better And I Feel Better” Jayboogie Gives Update On Health Post BBL surgery

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Popular Nigerian personality Jayboogie has recently addressed the serious accusations of scamming Nigerians.

These allegations centered around Jayboogie’s health issues and the supposed need for a kidney transplant following complications from a BBL surgery.

In a candid statement on social media, Jayboogie set the record straight. He explained that he never claimed he needed a kidney transplant. The rumors, he says, were not started by him. His real ordeal began with an injury to his kidney, which was a consequence of the BVL surgery. To lend credence to his story, he shared images of himself both in the surgical room and during his painful recovery.


Jayboogie recounted the harrowing experience of not being able to urinate for 12 hours post-surgery, which led to panic and an urgent referral to Lagoon Hospital on October 31, 2023. Despite undergoing a plasma exchange in an attempt to resolve the issue, his condition did not improve.

The situation was further aggravated by intense media scrutiny, prompting Zenith Hospital, where he was admitted, to discharge him and advise dialysis from home. Jayboogie highlighted the mental toll the controversy and public backlash took on him, including receiving death threats. This led him to take a break from social media and limit communication for his mental health, supported by his family’s decision to ensure his privacy.

In his statement, Jayboogie categorically denied allegations of scamming the public. He affirmed that he did suffer from sepsis and acute kidney injury, which necessitated a period of dialysis. However, he joyfully shared that as of November 28, he was discharged and is currently recuperating. He is still under medication but is optimistic about his recovery.

Jayboogie concluded his statement by expressing his sincere gratitude to everyone who supported him financially and emotionally during this difficult time. His response to these allegations sheds light on the complexities faced by public figures when their personal struggles become intertwined with public perception and misinformation.

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‘Waste Of Resources Amid Hardship’, Peter Obi Faults Number Of Nigerian Delegates At COP28

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The 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, on Sunday, faulted the number of Nigeria’s delegation at the COP28 Climate Summit in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

President Bola Tinubu had on November 29, 2023 departed Abuja for Dubai for the summit expected to end December 12, 2023.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the ex-governor of Anambra State, described sending over 1,000 persons to the summit as a waste of scarce resources by the Tinubu administration.

Obi lamented the “huge contingent” in Dubai at public expense at a time when most Nigerians can hardly afford food and basic needs.

“Nigeria’s contingent to COP28 totaled 1411, the same number as the Chinese contingents. While China’s budget for 2024 is about $4 trillion, about $2,860 per head; Nigeria’s budget is about $33 billion, about $165 per head,” Obi said.

“Nigeria has more people living in ‘Multi-Dimensional’ poverty than China, despite China having seven times our population.”

Obi said majority of those in the Nigerian delegation to COP28 are either non-relevant civil servants or relations of high government officials.

“This huge contingent is out at public expense at a time when most Nigerians can hardly afford food and basic needs as a result of economic hardship.

“As we have kept emphasizing, we must stop waste as a a tradition of our government and nation. We urgently need to cut the cost of governance and invest in production.

“We need to de-emphasize unnecessary ceremony and showmanship as a mode of government behaviour. We need to tie spending to necessity and national Priority. A New Nigeria is possible. We only need to do the reasonable and the necessary.”

Meanwhile, a presidential aide, Temitope Ajayi, in a comment on Sunday, defended the delegation of the President to the summit, saying that “President Tinubu and other officials on the Federal government delegation are in Dubai for serious business not jamboree”.

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COP28 Delegates: Analyst Doubts FG’s ‘Compassion’ For Suffering Masses

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A Professor of Political Science, Jideofor Adibe, has knocked the Federal Government over its “bloated” number of delegates at the COP28 Climate Summit in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Adibe, who spoke on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, said, with about 1,000 delegates sponsored by the government to the two-week summit, the compassion of the President Bola Tinubu administration to the hardship faced by Nigerians was doubtful.

The President had on November 29, 2023 departed Abuja for Dubai for the summit expected to end on December 12, 2023.

Controversy has since surrounded the number of Nigerian delegates at the summit which ranked that of China, with many Nigerians on social media berating the government for being “insensitive” to their economic sufferings occasioned by the removal of petrol subsidy mid-2023.

Adibe lamented that with the harsh economy, the Tinubu administration should lead by example and cut cost of governance.

He said, “Amid the binge on loans and borrowings, and the increasing hardship and increasing emigration of Nigerians, these things happening, is not just that it raises the question about fidelity to cutting down the cost of governance, but also the question of whether there is even compassion for suffering Nigerians because if there is compassion for what is going on in the country at the moment, people (government officials) should also be sensitive to the optics about the whole thing.”

The analyst said not just costs of flights of the officials in Dubai were funded by the government but their “Estacodes of about $900” daily and hotel costs for about two weeks of the summit.

The professor said the size of the President’s delegation should be on specific roles and it should not be more than three ministers.

He urged the President to set the tone that his administration abhors waste by sanctioning officials responsible for the large delegation in Dubai.

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