Nigeria maintains Ebola alert despite clearance of 62 virus contacts – NCDC
The Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), Dr. Jide Idris, announced on Friday that the monitoring period for all contacts related to a confirmed Ebola case has concluded. This announcement was made during a news conference in Abuja.
Dr. Idris reported that the last contact person had finished the mandatory observation period, which involved a total of 62 individuals. He noted that while 13 of those monitored exhibited symptoms such as fever, laboratory tests confirmed they were negative for the disease.
In addition, Dr. Idris provided updates on seven suspected cases reported in Adamawa, Rivers, Borno, Lagos, and Ekiti states over the past three weeks. Investigations into these cases, he stated, returned negative results for Ebola.
He emphasized that any official declaration regarding the outbreak would be contingent on established public health criteria and ongoing surveillance, particularly in light of continuing Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
As a precautionary measure, Dr. Idris mentioned that Nigeria has implemented heightened surveillance protocols. The National Emergency Operations Centre has been activated, and the Incident Management System is currently functioning at Level Three, the highest response status for Ebola.
These response strategies focus on ensuring effective clinical care, tracking and monitoring exposed individuals, preventing further transmission of the virus, protecting healthcare workers, and bolstering disease surveillance nationwide.
