Nigeria records first case of Omicron virus in 3 travelers from South Africa

Nigeria records first case of Omicron virus in 3 travelers from South Africa

By: Our Reporter

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control on Wednesday said three cases of Omicron virus have been identified amongst travelers into the country from South Africa. 

The three cases of the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus were reported in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.

NCDC had a few hours ago announced that the centre identified two cases of the new variant. However the third case was also announced shortly.

A statement signed by the Director-General, Dr Ifedayo Adetifa, partly reads, “The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control conducts case and genomic surveillance for inbound international travelers arriving in the country at its National Reference Laboratory, Abuja and a network of other testing laboratories. Sequencing of samples from COVID-19 positive inbound travellers is currently conducted in laboratories with sequencing capacity in the country and all the sequencing data are shared in publicly accessible databases.

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“This genomic surveillance has now identified and confirmed Nigeria’s first cases of the B.1.1.529 SARS-CoV-2 lineage, now known as the Omicron variant. Samples obtained for the stipulated day two test for all travellers to Nigeria were positive for this variant in three persons with a history of travel to South Africa.

“These cases were recent arrivals in the country in the past week. Follow up to ensure isolation, linkage to clinical care, contact tracing and other relevant response activities have commenced. Arrangements are also being made to notify the country where travel originated according to the provisions of the International Health Regulations.” The statement said

Nigeria records first case of Omicron virus in 3 travelers from South Africa