According to the minister of health of the
federation, the total number of Nigerian who have been infected with the
much-feared Zika virus stands at 25% of the total population. Given
that Nigeria’s population was 173.6million in 2013 according to the
world bank, the exact number of infected persons, according to the
minister, would be a mind-boggling 43million.
This disturbing information was made known when he
was invited by the National assembly to defend the budget of the Federal
Ministry of Health for the year 2016.
Addressing the house, the Minister revealed that Zika
had been in Nigeria long before it became a matter of global worry. In
his exact words;
“I want to say that Zika has been with us since 1954.
About 25% of Nigerians are positive to Zika virus but what has happened
is that it has done nothing to us,” he said.
Also known as Zika Fever, the disease has been known
to occur within a narrow equatorial belt from Africa to Asia since the
1950s. In 2014, though, the virus began to spread from one region to
another at an alarming pace till it hit South America, where it has now
reached pandemic Levels, especially in Brazil.
The virus usually comes with no or only mild symptoms.
#FOC health report
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