#Zikavirus: We’re conducting tests on #mosquitoes —FG

As part of preventive measures against possible outbreak of Zika virus, the Federal Government says it has put measures in place to ensure that the virus is not transmitted by mosquitoes in the country.

This is coming as the Director General of the World Health Organisation, WHO, Dr. Margaret Chan is convening an International Health Regulations Emergency Committee on Zika virus today in Geneva, Switzerland, to ascertain whether the Zika virus outbreak constitutes a public health emergency of international concern.



Meanwhile, German researchers say they have developed a diagnostic test that can accurately detect the Zika virus in humans. Previously, there was no way to diagnose the illness apart from appearance of the distinctive symptoms.

In a telephone chat with Vanguard, the Director-General of the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, Prof Abdulsalam Nasiru, said already the Federal Government has put in place mechanisms to stop the Zika virus from entering the country.

Part of the measures includes conducting epidemiological tests on mosquitoes to ensure they do not carry the virus.

According to him, as a follow up, there has been regular monitoring already and a meeting of stakeholders comprising experts on public health among others would be convene on Wednesday in Abuja.

Over the weekend, the Minister of Health, Prof Isaac Adewole, issues a travel alert to pregnant women from Nigeria not to travel to Brazil and other Latin American countries.

Briefing the WHO Executive Board during its 138th session, Chan said the level of alarm as extremely high.  The Director General noted that WHO is generally worried about the rapidly evolving situation and decisions are expected to be taken at the meeting to step up international efforts to fight the threat.

The Zika virus has been tied to severe birth defects, including babies born with brain damage to infected mothers. There is no vaccine that can prevent the infection and very few tests available to detect it.

Worse still, people in most countries have never been exposed to the virus before, so there’s very little natural immunity to the virus in the general population.

The mosquito that carries the Zika virus, the Aedes aegypti mosquito, is the same mosquito that spreads the Chugwuniya fever and the yellow fever diseases, and is found in most parts of the world including Nigeria. A species of the same mosquito carries Dengue fever.

In recent times, public health officials around the world have expressed concern about the fast-spreading Zika virus

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