There is an outbreak of Corona virus, mostly in China, as you may be aware, with over 450 confirmed cases in China as at early this week.
About five cases have also been confirmed in Thailand, Japan, Republic of Korea and the United States of America, all with a travel history to China.
Mode of Transmission:
According to preliminary investigations, most patients with the infection were suspected to have had contact with Seafood at Wuhan city in China, where most of the cases have so far been diagnosed.
Person to person transmission of coronaviruses with an infected patient within a household or health care setting is known to be a possibility.
Symptoms:
This new coronavirus appears to cause mild to severe respiratory symptoms like cough, sneezing, runny nose and breathing difficulties, death is a rare outcome, mostly in patients with underlying illness.
Treatment:
There is no specific treatment and vaccination for this infection yet.
The current approach is to treat the symptoms, provide supportive care for infected persons based on the patient’s clinical condition.
National Prevention/Control Measures for your information:
• The Port Health Services unit of the Federal Ministry of Health in Nigeria has been placed on alert and has heightened screening measures at the points of entry (see the attached document).
• In China, exit screening measures have been enhanced for travellers from Wuhan city at the Points of Entry (PoE) (airports and ground transport stations) since the 14th of January 2020. This includes temperature checks, combined with provision of information and masks to passengers with fever, as well as directing symptomatic passengers to health facilities for follow up.
• Screening at entry points to some nations such as USA has also been intensified.
Prevention
To reduce the risk of spread of coronavirus, members of the public are advised to adhere to the following measures:
• Wash your hands regularly with soap under running water
• Avoid touching hands, face or items touched by individuals with symptoms of common cold
• Cover your mouth and nose properly with handkerchief or tissue paper when sneezing and/or coughing. You may also cough into your elbow if a handkerchief is not available
• Use of disposable nose/face mask if you are in China or any location with reported cases, while this outbreak lasts
• Avoid close contact with anyone showing symptoms of respiratory illness such as coughing and sneezing
• Avoid self-medication, report to the nearest health facility when you experience any of the above-mentioned symptoms
• Healthcare workers are always advised to observe standard infection prevention and control measures when attending to patients and take a travel history
• No vaccination is available against this virus till date