A medical laboratory in Lagos has reported that the swine flu virus was detected in a Nigerian patient in July this year.
Pamela Ajayi, the managing director of Pathcare Laboratory, reported that the girl, whose name she withheld for ethical reasons, resides in America but came to spend her holidays in Nigeria. It was when she arrived in the country that she became critically ill with severe flu.
Dr. Ajayi said that was the only case that tested positive out of the 30 suspected cases sent to her laboratory since the pandemic but noted that there could have been a risk of infection to other people.
“There is Swine Flu in Nigeria. The reason the Federal Government is still saying there is none in Nigeria is because people are not testing.” “If you don’t test for it you wouldn’t know whether there are or not,” she said.
She reasoned that Nigerians are regular travellers and that it was likely that many had been in contact with the virus.
“With Lagos and Abuja being such international hubs, people travelling everywhere, it is not possible for us not to have Swine flu in Nigeria, because this disease can be easily imported.”
Swine flu, also known as 2009 H1N1 influenza, is a human disease. People get the disease from other people, not from pigs. It was first reported in Mexico on April 16 2009 and has been confirmed to have claimed over hundreds lives, already.
Dr. Ajayi said when the incident happened in July, they had informed the World Health Organization and the Lagos State Ministry of Health.
“We informed them. But that is all we can do. The point we are trying to make is that in a country of 150 million people, we should not relax and say that there is no swine flu. People should test and test at a lab that can identify it,” she added.
Meanwhile, the Federal Ministry of Health has repeatedly assured Nigerians that there is no Swine Flu reported in the country.
Symptoms
Symptoms of H1N1 swine flu are like regular flu symptoms and include fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose, body aches, headache, chills, and fatigue. Many people with swine flu have had diarrhoea and vomiting. Nearly everyone with flu has at least two of these symptoms. But these symptoms can also be caused by many other conditions.
Fatalities
The United States government has reported not less than 66 laboratory confirmed human cases of swine influenza, with one death in six states. Mexico has confirmed 26 human cases of the same virus, with seven deaths. Canada also has six cases with no death and Spain with one case and no death. Other countries such as New Zealand, Australia, Israel, Britain and Germany have also reported suspected cases.
Government effort
The Federal Government had made protective bags available at various hospitals and ports should the need arise for people to wear protective masks. The spokesman of the Federal Ministry of Health also said government had come up with an immediate National Preparedness and Response Work Plan for swine flu outbreak in Nigeria.