U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) suffers huge social media backlash from Nigerians yesterday, over its description of Nano Silver as a pesticide, a drug which was recently announced by the country’s Health Minister, Onyebuchi Chukwu, to be an experimental treatment of patients affected with the deadly Ebola disease.
The FDA’s warning was made on the heels of comments by Chukwu, who reportedly said on Thursday that eight Ebola patients in Lagos will receive an experimental treatment called nano-silver.
The agency said it had received consumer complaints about the Ebola claims. “Individuals promoting these unapproved and fraudulent products must take immediate action to correct or remove these claims or face potential FDA action,” the agency said.
As the US FDA’s warning went viral, Nigerians erupted with outrage on social media as they mostly express the need for their country to protect lives of its citizenry after US declined giving out its’ Zimapp.
One Joseph Anthony writes, “West made a lot of mistakes on the road to there so called “state of art medicines”. We had no opportunity to scrutinize Zmapp. Let’s take a bold step to try something. Nothing is as strong as a proof.
We may try it with rodents and watch out for cultured results or patterns and if we get the gut feeling to proceed based on the results the why not! Let’s ignore everyone. For once let’s look inward for solutions we are not toilet to receive processed products by others.” He ended
Another commentator, who identifies self as Zuby expressed that when an African says he can cure AIDS or Ebola they tell him to shut up, say it’s impossible or not possible without testing it. He stressed that the drug should be offered to one person who already has Ebola and if it doesn’t work then we know for sure it’s doesn’t.
Abidemi Adekunle pleaded with America, saying they should be magnanimous enough to release the very drug that is working for them to other nations now that WHO has authorised the use of experimental drug.
“If its pesticide, we need it that’s all. How do we come about Ebola? In fact I guess they cultured the virus and send it to Africa because we rejected gay marriage. If you could remember that such has been done some years back against China through SARS” says one Anigbogu Okechukwu
From the FDA’s report, it was also revealed that Silver has been in use for centuries. FDA states that over the years, tiny silver particles known as nano-silver have controversially been incorporated into a variety of consumer products such as socks and bedding to help block odors caused by bacteria and mold over.
This is happening at a time doctors and nurses attending to victims of the deadly Ebola Virus Disease, EVD, at Mainland Hospital, Lagos isolation centre, downed tools following allegation of negligence by concerned relatives and associates of the female medical doctor and health workers who contracted the EVD from the late Liberian-American, Patrick Sawyer.
Meanwhile Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State, had pleaded with the health workers on the need to get back to during a media briefing in Lagos, yesterday.
Fashola laments that Lagos State was yet to receive the experimental Ebola drug (Nano Silver) and a kobo out of the N1.9 billion Federal Government intervention fund.
Credit: Kevin Djakpor
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