The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, Wednesday attributed the strange deaths being witnessed in Enugu and other states of the federation to the prevalent cases of yellow fever.
The minister said this while addressing State House correspondents at the end of the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari.
“Yes there was an outbreak that started in Delta and was found in Enugu and then two other states making it a total of four states. The analysis we have done so far shows it is yellow fever.
“So, the response has been going on from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), vaccination is going on in all these areas.
“Few days ago, there was also a report from a member of the National Assembly saying that in his constituency there are unexplained illnesses and deaths and that alarm also immediately triggered a response, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control has been directed to go and carry out an investigation.
“As we speak, they have to collect samples, do tests and do some laboratory investigations before we are sure exactly what it is and what the cause is. So, the response is going on automatically and we shall get the result very soon,” he said.
Enugu state has been battling to contain the outbreak of the disease in two communities – Ette Uno and Umuopu – in Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area of the state but it has now spread to the third, Nsukka, Isi-Uzo.
Delta State had recently reported that no fewer than 22 deaths have been recorded in Ika North East Local Government Area of the state due to the outbreak of the disease.
Meanwhile, the minister and Ministry of Water Resources counterpart, Mr Suleiman Adamu, also briefed FEC on their interactions with stakeholders in their respective states on the #ENDSARS protests as directed by the president.
The Minister of Water Resources said no incident was recorded in Jigawa and Sokoto states, and commended the youth for adhering to president’s appeal.
The Minister of Health said he met with stakeholders in Edo and Delta states over the protests and reported on incidents that occurred to the Federal Executive Council meeting.
The president had recently asked his ministers to relocate to their respective home states for the purpose of dousing the tension created by the #ENDSARS protests and the lawlessness that followed.
