From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has debunked social media reports attributed to the Chief of Russian Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Force, alleging that Nigeria has a laboratory where Monkeypox was being generated and spread to other parts of the world.
NCDC said the Chief of Russian Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Force, had in the social media report alleged that there are four US-controlled biological laboratories operating in Nigeria where such actions are taken.
The report made reference to World Health Organization (WHO) report that indicated that the Monkeypox (MPX) virus responsible for outbreaks in Europe and elsewhere was imported from Nigeria where the United States of America had deployed its biological infrastructure, meaning that MPX virus is generated in these laboratories.
NCDC Director General, Dr. Ifedayo Adetifa, in a statement, on Tuesday, asked the world to disregard the allegations, describing it as untrue.
He said the designation and activities of Nigerian public health laboratories are known to the supervising authorities, and most of the laboratories were procured and set up by the Federal Government in all 36 States and FCT for diagnostic purposes, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and other infectious diseases.
He said that some other laboratories are dedicated to the very successful HIV control programme managed by the Federal Government and partners, based on larger and longstanding bilateral and multilateral cooperation in public health, including prevention, diagnosis, surveillance, and control of diseases.
He added: “As a rule, Nigeria welcomes scientific cooperation with all foreign countries, and has received material support from the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan etc, and also discussed vaccine production with Russia.
“Collaboration between Nigeria and the United States has provided opportunities for technical assistance, capacity building, provision of equipment and field hospitals at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, and funds to support health programmes, like HIV/AIDS, malaria elimination.”
He maintained that NCDC is a reputable national public health institute, with the mandate to lead the preparedness, detection and response to infectious disease outbreaks and public health emergencies in Nigeria, and the mission is to protect the health of Nigerians through evidence-based prevention, integrated disease surveillance and response activities, using a one health approach, guided by research and led by a skilled workforce.