The World Health Organisation warned mosquito-ridden countries in Africa, such as Nigeria, to prepare for possible transmission of the highly infectious virus, especially in pregnant women.
This came as experts in the country said there was the need to take the WHO alert seriously. In fact, they expressed fears that Zika virus may have been transmitting in Nigeria before now. Speaking at a stakeholder’s forum on Lassa fever in Lagos, a professor of Medical Virology, Sunday Omilabu, noted that many undiagnosed cases of Zika fever might have occurred in the country. According to Omilabu, many Nigerian babies have been born with mircocephaly, a neurological condition, which scientists have linked to Zika infection. He stated that there were no confirmed cases yet because physicians did not investigate what conditions led to babies born being with microcephaly (abnormal heads) in the past in the country. Corroborating Omilabu’s views, the Chief Physician, Mainland Infectious Diseases Hospital, Yaba, Dr. Abimbola Bowale, said Nigerians should be least surprised that Zika, a mosquito-borne virus, could have been transmitted before now.
 

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