Health Minister Prof. Isaac Adewole has revealed that twenty five percent of Nigeria’s population have tested positive to the dreaded Zika virus which is currently ravaging South America.
He made the revelation while defending the 2016 budget of the Ministry of Health, saying the virus is not taken serious because Nigeria is not interested in it.
“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.
Zika virus according to the Centre for Disease Control, spread to people through mosquito bites. The most common symptoms of Zika virus disease are fever, rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis (red eyes).
The illness is usually mild with symptoms lasting from several days to a week. Severe disease requiring hospitalization is uncommon.
