Meanwhile, the Ogun State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Olaokun Soyinka, yesterday disclosed that four travellers coming into the country from Guinea through an illegal border area in Imeko-Afon Local Government Area of Ogun State have been detained and were being monitored by the state government in its efforts to prevent the spread of the dreaded Ebola virus.
Guinea was the first country where the virus was detected in West Africa almost six months ago before it spread to neighbouring Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Soyinka, who disclosed this at a press conference in his office in Abeokuta yesterday, said response teams have been put in place at the local government area levels who serve as surveillance teams.

According to him, they had been detained because they could not convince the border authorities that they had not been in contact with patients who had contacted the virus.
He added that the circumstances of their crossing was a bit worrying, "they were told until they could convince the authorities, they have to go back or if they were to come to Nigeria, they have to observe them”.

He explained that the travellers who were coming from Guinea en route Nigeria agreed to be in the area for monitoring for the next 21 days.
"So they are staying there, they are not being quarantined but agreed voluntarily to wait while they are being observed to ensure that they have no symptoms,” he said.

While reassuring residents that the state is free of the virus, Soyinka stated that in addition to further training of the healthcare workers, there was refresher information and further sensitisation at the border areas.

According to him, the state currently has three quarantine and isolation centres in each of the three senatorial districts of the state, and urged the public to cooperate fully with the efforts of the state government in the interest of their health.

He reiterated that the virus could only be contacted through body fluids of an infected person not by just sitting with the person, advising the public to maintain personal hygiene with regular hand washing and the use of sanitisers.

The commissioner further advised that unnecessary physical contact at public gatherings should be avoided, saying: “Do not travel to areas where the epidemic is active, avoid hunting and eating bush meat. If you suspect Ebola, contact the health authorities immediately.”


He said the state government was compiling a list of volunteers who could be called upon for a variety of tasks to alleviate the disease.

Good one

The porousness of our border (if you can call it that) is the worrying part.

We still have borders in the South West where foreign nationals across West Africa can seemingly stroll through? What on earth is the matter with this government. Its like we purposely try to be the architects of our own destruction.

vivaciousvivi: We still have borders in the South West where foreign nationals across West Africa can seemingly stroll through? What on earth is the matter with this government. Its like we purposely try to be the architects of our own destruction.

Meanwhile it will be treated like a non issue until another index patient emerges from there.

mbulela: The porousness of our border (if you can call it that) is the worrying part.

you've said it all.