The Plateau State Government has described as false the current fear that Ebola has spread to the state, even as it said its response teams are ground to handle the scourge.
At a joint press briefing on Friday by the state Commissioner for Information and Communication, Barrister Olivie Dazyem; the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Fom Dakwak; and the Commissioner for the Environment, Silvanus Dongtoe, the government denied of receiving any report of an Ebola outbreak in the state.
The spokesman of the response teams and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Elaise Kpede, who stood in for Dakwak, said government was determined to ensure that the well being of the citizenry.
According to Kpede, the state government in conjunction with the World Health Organization has put in place a 31-member response team to carry out surveillance on the disease.
He said the team has been trained and equipped to be able identify and distinguish between Ebola and Lassa fever signs and symptoms, adding that government was working towards creating an isolated ward in each of the senatorial district in the state in of case any outbreak.
Speaking on the confusion between Thursday night and Friday morning as people were tricked into drinking and taking their bath with salt water as remedy for Ebola, Kpede described it as unfortunate.
He said salt is not scientifically proven be a cure for Ebola, stressing that salt intake rather aggravates the health of an individual, especially hypertensive persons.
Dazyem charged citizens to always adhere to personal hygiene by washing their hands regularly.