Before The‘ Strange Disease’ In Benue Becomes Coronavirus

Ehanire

The world is on the edge. Nature has unleashed coronavirus on China and it is spreading. China’ s interest and influence is far reaching and expanding. It is the world’ s second largest economy, after the United States. Its businessmen are reaching out to the world for investments. And the world has opened its arms wide to China.

China’ s interest in the world is basically economic. It does not seek to conquer territories. But the emergence of coronavirus, even if temporarily, is making nations to reevaluate contact between China and the rest of the world. China is paying the price of contagious disease.

Coronavirus is spreading far away from China. It is now closer home. It is now confirmed that it is in Cote de’ Ivoire. Nigeria should be worried. Its health system had always been the joke of the world. Even their leaders do not trust the health system in place. That is why in Nigeria health tourism abroad is booming. That is why the country should be worried that a so - called‘ strange disease’ has been discovered in Benue State, one of the poorest states in Nigeria.

On Wednesday January 29, 2020, the alarm was raised. The alarm was from the president, Igede National Youths Council, Andyson Iji Egbodo who said that the strange disease has already claimed four lives in Oye - Obi, a boundary community in Obi local government area of Benue State.

The president in a statement called for immediate attention of government at all levels to stop the spread of the disease to other communities.

"The sickness has so far killed four persons in two weeks. The four victims namely Happiness Ogbu, Onah Ogbedu, Andy Edu and Wisdom Agwo developed the same symptoms of headache, internal heat, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach ache, weakness of the body and swollen stomach and death,” he said.

The president disclosed that aside the four death, about six more persons are currently down with the same symptoms, adding that some of them have already been moved to General Hospital, Oju.

According to him, "Our investigation reveal that the health authorities in Oju have been briefed, Igede National Youths Council is calling on the Benue State government to as a matter of urgency do all within its powers to arrest the situation. We are not resting on our part in the area of mass mobilisation and awareness campaign on how to prevent its spread.”

The state director of Public Health, Dr.Terna Kur, who confirmed the report said the Ministry of Health and Human Services has also received similar information on the outbreak of a strange disease in Obi local government and has already mobilised the Local Disease Surveillance Notification Officers to the area.

"The disease notification officers will liaise with the doctor in charge of the General Hospital Oju, where they said three victims were taken to, so that they will immediately move them to isolation ward," the director said.

The Public Health Director, added that the affected victims would be taken to the Isolation ward in one of the public facilities for investigation before they would know what they are dealing with. He said for now they don 't know what the disease is.

The Public Health Director said they don’ t know what they are dealing with. Well it is time that the Benue State government reaches out to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) that is supposed to have the capacity to investigate and categorize the‘ strange disease’. This requires more urgency given the Lassa Fever outbreak in Nigeria, in which Benue has been affected and the coronavirus that has made an entry into our region, through Cote de’ Ivoire.

Meanwhile in its public health advisory, NCDC said that coronavirus, appears to cause mild to severe respiratory symptoms like cough and breathing difficulties. That is all the symptoms they could give to the Nigerian public. However, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), symptoms of the coronavirus usually include: Feeling tired; Difficulty breathing; A high temperature; A cough and / or sore throat. These symptoms are similar to other respiratory diseases, including flu and the common cold. But it also mutates according to the environment. That is why Nigeria’ s health officials should quickly go to Benue State and find out what is happening there with respect to the‘ strange disease’ that has already claimed four lives.