The Nigerian government has intensified screening measures at major international airports to prevent the outbreak of Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV), recently reported in China.
Health Minister Muhammad Ali Pate has directed port health officers to screen arriving passengers for symptoms of the virus. Screening is currently underway at Murtala Muhammad International Airport in Lagos and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.
A source at MMIA assured that the Port Health Service is actively monitoring passengers to mitigate risks. “Port Health Officers are conducting thorough checks on passengers of foreign airlines as they arrive,” the source noted.
While the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has not issued a formal directive to airlines, efforts are ongoing to safeguard the nation’s entry points. NCAA’s Director of Public Affairs, Michael Achimugu, was unavailable for comment at the time of reporting.
The spread of HMPV has raised alarms globally, with cases reported in India, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Kazakhstan. In the UK alone, over 5,000 hospitalizations were recently linked to the virus, with children under five showing the highest positivity rate at 10%, according to the UK Health Security Agency.
Experts have linked the surge in cases to colder weather and increased indoor activity, conditions favorable to respiratory virus transmission.
As Nigeria ramps up airport surveillance, authorities urge vigilance to prevent a repeat of the COVID-19 scenario, when the country recorded its first confirmed case in February 2020.
