The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has outlined preventive measures against the Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV), assuring that the country is not under “serious threat for now.”

While concerns have risen over the outbreak of the virus in some countries worldwide, the NCDC Director-General, Jide Idris, during Thursday’s edition of Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, allayed fears, assuring Nigerians that the situation is under control and there is no cause for alarm.

“Let me say, there’s no serious threat for now. That’s one. Two, this HMPV virus, it’s not a new virus. It’s just that it’s not well-known. But it’s been implicated in many respiratory infections over the years, across countries, especially in children and elderly people,” Idris said.

The NCDC boss explained that, like the normal flu, old virus, or influenza, the respiratory virus is one of the causes of respiratory problems.

He noted that the NCDC is closely monitoring the situation and remains on high alert, with no cases reported in Nigeria yet. He also detailed measures to prevent the spread of the virus.

“We are in a monitoring and alert phase, and that’s why, again, we take instructions from WHO globally because every country is supposed to report cases like this—any case, any problem—to WHO. These are things they consider might become global problems later so that they can alert every other country to get prepared,” Idris said.

“That is precisely what we are doing in Nigeria. We’ve experienced some major problems—we had Ebola, and we had COVID. With those two, we developed some capabilities, learned our lessons, and put infrastructures in place.

“So, we’ve got public health infrastructures. These are things you need to put in place in anticipation of situations like this so that you don’t have to start running helter-skelter.”

Idris advised the public to avoid overcrowded areas and to wash their hands regularly to reduce the risk of contracting the virus.