Nigeria ready for EBOLA: NVRI Has Facilities, Expertise for Safe Diagnosis

As the world battles the Ebola virus, the National Veterinary Research Institute (NVRI) said on Tuesday that it had the capacity to safely diagnose any specimen from animal or human patient.

Dr Mohammed Ahmed, the Executive Director, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Vom, Plateau, on Tuesday.

Ahmed said that the institute had a well-fitted modular laboratory and reagents to do the job.

"The institute has facilities and well-trained expertise that can safely handle samples brought here and give the right diagnosis.

"We also have positive precious suit that would protect the laboratory scientists from any contact with the room to be used for the diagnosis," he said.

He said that Ebola was just another zoonotic disease with humans and chimpanzees as mere accidental hosts of the virus.

According to him, bats are key bearers of Ebola virus.

He explained that for humans to contract and spread it, there has to be an interface with monkeys and baboons.
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