By Haruna Gimba
The Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole said has allayed the fears of public on Zika virus, saying Nigerians had developed resistance to the virus.
According to the minister, the virus has been in Nigeria since 1954 and could not harm the citizens, as Nigerians have developed strong resistance to the virus.
Zika virus has been ravaging South America and part of Caribbean, and World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared the virus as an international public health emergency.
Brazil is the most hit country in recent outbreak, with more than a million people infected.
The WHO said Zika virus is “spreading explosively” throughout the Americas, and the agency warned that it is expected to reach nearly every country in the Americas.
With the 2016 Olympics coming up in Brazil later in the year, fears that the virus could spread further is heightening, but Professor Adewole, who is a professor of medicine said Nigerians have immunity against the virus.
Health Reporters gathered that a research conducted by A.H. Fagbami in 1979 has revealed that 40 percent of Nigerians have Zika neutralizing anti-bodies.
