Nigeria Takes Lessons From Past Outbreaks to Contain Coronavirus

(Bloomberg) --

Nigeria's experience battling infectious diseases including cholera and Ebola may have better equipped Africa's most populous country from in dealing with the rapidly spreading coronavirus than some of its peers.

A network of laboratories used to identify sufferers of other illnesses have been made available to help contain the new virus, which has killed more than 3,000 people around the world, according to Michael Ryan, executive director for the WHO's Health Emergencies Programme.

“Nigeria has well-tested mechanisms for dealing with these dangerous pathogens,” Ryan told reporters. “The same labs which can do influenza diagnostics can now transfer and do COVID-19 diagnostics,” he said, using the formal title of the disease.

Nigeria confirmed the first case in sub-Saharan Africa on Feb. 27, but no more yet been reported. The victim is an Italian man who had traveled on business to Lagos from Milan, and health authorities got in touch with over 100 people who may have come into contact with him and asked them to remain in self-isolation.

The number of Nigerian laboratories to help early detection has tripled since 2014, when the country was part of the effort to end an Ebola outbreak that eventually killed 11,000 people across three nations, Chikwe Ihekweazu, director of Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), said in an emailed response to questions.

--With assistance from William Clowes.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ruth Olurounbi in Abuja at rolurounbi4@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anthony Osae-Brown at aosaebrown2@bloomberg.net, John Bowker, Hilton Shone

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