Nigeria: Suspected Ebola case actually dengue fever, no Ebola in country
A suspected case of Ebola Viral Disease in Nigeria has turned out to be dengue hemorrhagic fever, the Nigerian news source, Leadership reports Tuesday.
Image/CIA
At a news conference in Abuja, the Minister of State for Health, Dr Khaliru Alhassan said, “ As a follow up to the report in a section of the media of an outbreak of Ebola disease in Nigeria, the Federal Ministry of Health wishes to inform the general public that laboratory investigation has revealed that it is a case of Dengue Hemorrhage Fever and not that of Ebola Hemorrhage as erroneously reported.
“Most Nigerians mistake Dengue fever, which is also transmitted by mosquitoes in urban and semi urban areas, for Ebola disease.”
The Minister said that the outbreak is restricted to Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone prompting port health posts and medical centers have been put on high alert to screen travelers from countries with confirmed Ebola fever occurrence.
A warning was also issued from the government concerning the consumption of bushmeat. “ We have enhanced our surveillance activities on areas of high probability; areas where they eat bush meat, areas where you have a lot of bats and other tiny animals”, Director General of the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Prof. Abdul Nasidi notes.
Symptoms of Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever include all the symptoms of classic dengue (very high fever, up to 105°F, severe headache, pain behind the eye, severe joint and muscle pain, nausea and vomiting and a rash) plus severe damage to the blood vessels. Bleeding from the nose, gums or under the skin are common. This form of dengue can be fatal.
As of Mar.31, there has been 130 clinically compatible Ebola Viral Disease reported in Guinea and Liberia and at least 80 deaths.
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