Nigeria Tightens Surveillance at Entry Point Amid Fresh Ebola Outbreak

Last week, the Ugandan Ministry of Health confirmed the outbreak of the disease with one death and has now followed up with forty-four contacts.

With the latest development, the Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Mr Jide Idris, in an advisory said although Nigeria has not recorded any outbreak of the disease, it is putting in place preventive measures.

“There are no cases of Ebola virus disease in Nigeria. However, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), in collaboration with relevant Ministries, Departments, Agencies, and Partners through the National Emerging Viral Hemorrhagic Diseases (EVHD) Technical Working Group, continues to monitor disease occurrence and has initiated measures to strengthen our preparedness in the country.

“These include the update of our EVD emergency contingency plan, heightened surveillance especially at the points of entry, and optimizing diagnostic capacity for EVD testing in designated laboratories in cities with international airports of entry and the National Reference Laboratory. In addition, all Lassa Fever testing laboratories can be activated to scale up testing if the need arises.”

According to the NCDC DG, there are no Ebola vaccines in Nigeria at the moment.

“There are vaccines and therapeutics available for some strains of the Ebola virus. The approved vaccine for the Zaire species (EBV) is not currently available in the country but can be obtained from the WHO Afro and does not protect against the Sudan virus,” he said.

However, the NCDC boss said, “Early recognition, isolation of patients, and initiation of supportive treatment, implementing infection and control measures in health facilities and homes, tracing and monitoring of contacts, and safe burial practices, significantly reduce morbidity and the probability of death.”

Ebola disease is a severe, and often fatal disease caused by the Ebola virus. It is transmitted to humans via contact with wild animals and spreads through human-to-human transmission via direct contact with bodily fluids of infected individuals or contaminated surfaces.

Symptoms may include fever, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, vomiting, diarrhoea, internal and external bleeding. It may appear 2 to 21 days after infection. Medical expertise are advised by the NCDC, in regard to this disease.