WGSARS01: NIGERIA REPORTS SARS FATALITY IN KANO

UNCLAS ABUJA 000911

SIPDIS


STATE FOR AF/W
STATE PASS CDC


E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: AMED TBIO NI
SUBJECT: WGSARS01: NIGERIA REPORTS SARS FATALITY IN KANO



1. A Ministry of Health official confirmed media reports that
a Taiwanese businessman died of SARS May 9 in Kano. The
official told Emboff May 15 that six workers at the hospital
that treated the businessman subsequently had fallen ill, but
all have since recovered. The Ministry has reported this case
to the World Health Organization (WHO),the official noted.
He said two alleged cases in Port Harcourt reported by the
media have not been confirmed. The Ministry did not believe
these were SARS cases.



2. The Ministry of Health's Emergency Procedures and Response
Division has established a SARS surveillance program in
coordination with the WHO. The official noted that should
SARS spread in the general population, it will be difficult
to quarantine carriers of the virus from others suffering
from diseases with similar symptoms, such as malaria.
Comment: Most Nigerian medical facilities are unlikely to
have sufficient technical capacity to definitively diagnose
SARS. In fact, it is our understanding that the case reported
to the WHO was based on a symptomatic rather than laboratory
diagnosis. End Comment.
JETER