Ebola: FG quarantines high-risk contacts, allays fears; patient zero shows signs of recovery

*No evidence of community transmission yet — Minister *Tomori demands full disclosure *Ebola patient in Nigeria is Ugandan-born — Africa CDC *Why Vaccines aren’t available for latest Ebola outbreak *Abia, Enugu, Anambra intensify disease surveillance across LGs *States, hospitals step up preparedness

Buy Maps

By Sola Ogundipe,  Health Editor

LAGOS — The Federal Government, yesterday said it has intensified efforts to contain Nigeria’s confirmed case of Ebola Virus Disease; place high-risk contacts in quarantine, isolate other contacts and strengthened preparedness across states as well as health facilities.

Read Also:

*FG confirms Ebola case in FCT, begins contact tracing

*Ebola patient arrived Abuja Oct. 3 via Ethiopian Airlines from Uganda – Source

*Africa faces ‘complex’ Ebola outbreak after virus spread to Nigeria – WHO

Buy Maps

The government also allayed fears of a wider outbreak even as it also announced that the index patient is showing significant signs of recovery, while stressing that there was, so far, no evidence that the infection had spread into the community.

The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate who spoke, expressing optimism that she could recover fully.

But the minister failed to respond on the number of contacts under high-risk or whether any of the 46 contacts have tested positive for the virus.  

He however, insisted that government would not take anything for granted despite the absence of evidence of community transmission.

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, had on Wedneday, directed the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, to place the 46 contacts on a no-fly list, comprising 44 persons who came into contact with the patient at a hospital after she developed symptoms and two members of her domestic staff.

Buy Maps

Keyamo, in a statement on his verified X account following a virtual meeting with Pate, said he had also directed the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, to notify domestic and international airlines of the restriction.

The measure is intended to prevent the contacts from travelling by air during the period within which symptoms may develop following exposure. The minister said efforts are ongoing to isolate the individuals pending confirmation that they had not been infected.

He also ordered heightened Ebola surveillance at international airports, including temperature checks, travel history monitoring, digital health declarations and stronger coordination with public health authorities.

Speaking at a briefing in Abuja, Pate said the patient’s travel history indicated that the case was imported. She was reportedly asymptomatic on arrival in Nigeria but developed symptoms days later.

Buy Maps

He said contact tracing had covered people at the hospital where she received treatment, her domestic contacts and a private medical facility she had visited.

High-risk contacts have been placed in quarantine at a designated facility, while other contacts are being monitored in line with public health guidelines. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, NCDC, has activated its incident management system in collaboration with the Federal Capital Territory Administration.

“I spoke with the clinicians today, and I understand that the laboratory results show significant improvement. There is a possibility that she will recover fully. However, we cannot take anything for granted.

“We currently have one confirmed case, and our priority is to contain it and prevent transmission into communities or a wider outbreak,” he said.

The government has informed state governments and directed those yet to complete their Ebola response plans to do so urgently. Additional resources have also been mobilised to strengthen the NCDC’s capacity, while the Presidential Task Force on Ebola Preparedness and Emerging Public Health Threats has stepped up coordination.

Chairman of the task force and Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, said Nigeria’s surveillance system enabled early identification of the case.

Buy Maps

Gbajabiamila said the patient had no symptoms when she arrived in Abuja, with the symptoms emerging four days later. He attributed the detection to protocols put in place by the Health Ministry, the task force and other agencies.

He assured Nigerians that the task force would strengthen existing protocols and ensure more rigorous enforcement, urging citizens to cooperate with public health authorities.

Africa CDC seeks travel history

Meanwhile, Director-General of the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Jean Kaseya, said the patient was born in Uganda and called for full disclosure of her travel history to help establish where she contracted the virus.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Morning Brief, Kaseya said the woman travelled to Uganda, where she spent some days before her husband joined her. He said the couple returned to Abuja on October 3.

He said African health authorities are working together to determine whether the infection originated in Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo or another location.

“What we want is collaboration from this lady. She has to tell us, to disclose to the authorities; I need this information, Nigeria needs this information because we need also to support Uganda,” Kaseya said.

His comments came amid differing accounts from Nigerian and Ugandan authorities over the patient’s nationality and travel history. Uganda’s health authorities had said the woman is Nigerian and had travelled to eastern DRC for business before transiting through Uganda.

Uganda’s Director-General of Health Services, Charles Olaro, maintained that travelling through Uganda did not establish that the infection was contracted there, adding that the location of exposure remains under investigation.

Kaseya also explained that no vaccine is currently available for the Bundibugyo strain responsible for the outbreak, although clinical trials of candidate vaccines, including one manufactured in Egypt, had commenced.

He criticised what he described as inadequate global investment in developing vaccines for diseases predominantly affecting Africa, arguing that international partners needed to support vaccine research and development more urgently.

Why vaccines aren’t available for latest Ebola outbreak

It explained why the continent has yet to find a vaccine for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola disease.

Dr. Kaseya, said some partners consider Ebola an African issue, adding that “if this outbreak was in Western countries, vaccines would already be available”.

He, however, said that the agency had initiated clinical trials of new vaccines, including a new Bundibugyo vaccine manufactured in Egypt.

Tomori questions response timeline

Renowned virologist and chairman of the West African National Academy of Scientists, Prof. Oyewale Tomori, meanwhile, called on the Federal Government to provide comprehensive information about the case, warning that gaps in official communication could fuel rumours and undermine public confidence.

Tomori said: “The government must be completely transparent about matters like this. We don’t want to hear information in bits and pieces from different sources.”

He called for clearer information about the patient’s movements, the extent of contact tracing and the handling of diagnostic samples, while acknowledging that certain medical details might need to remain confidential.

Tomori recalled Nigeria’s experience during the 2014 Ebola outbreak, when the infection in Liberian-American Patrick Sawyer took several days to diagnose.

He urged health workers to consider patients’ travel histories and possible exposure to infectious diseases before dismissing symptoms as malaria or other common illnesses.

He also called for adequate isolation facilities, trained personnel and medical supplies to manage additional cases should any of the contacts test positive.

“Suppose two or three of those contacts test positive. What happens next? Do we have the hospitals, isolation facilities and other resources needed to manage additional cases?” he asked.

South-East states intensify surveillance

Across the South-East, state governments have activated precautionary measures, strengthened disease surveillance and placed health workers on alert, although no Ebola case has been confirmed in the zone.

In Abia, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Blossom Uma-Kalu, said the government is assessing its preparedness, including the provision of personal protective equipment, thermometers and hand sanitisers.

She said the Infectious Disease Hospital in Aba is nearing completion, while an isolation facility at a specialist hospital in Umuahia is undergoing remodelling.

Uma-Kalu said the state is also considering an additional facility that could be adapted for isolation if necessary.

She urged health workers, particularly those in private hospitals and laboratories, to remain vigilant and promptly report suspected cases.

In Enugu, Commissioner for Health, Prof. George Ugwu, said disease surveillance had been intensified across the state’s 17 local government areas, while the Public Health Emergency Operations Centre had been reactivated.

He said rapid response teams are on standby and urged public and private health facilities to isolate suspected cases promptly and report them to the appropriate authorities.

Ugwu noted that Enugu’s position as a travel and commercial hub, particularly through the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, made heightened surveillance necessary.

In Anambra, Commissioner for Health, Dr. Afam Ben Obidike, announced plans to deploy surveillance officers at strategic locations, including the Chinua Achebe International Airport, Umueri, motor parks, banks and other public places.

He said the state hasmonitored 40 persons of interest, with 33 completing their monitoring period and being cleared, while seven remain under active follow-up. All seven were reportedly stable.

Obidike said the state’s preparedness plan covered surveillance, rapid response, infection prevention, laboratory coordination and risk communication.

In Ebonyi, Commissioner for Health, Dr. Moses Ekuma, said the state had activated precautionary measures, established an equipped isolation centre and trained health workers on infection prevention and control.

He urged residents to practise good hygiene, cook bush meat thoroughly and exercise caution during burials where the cause of death was unknown.

FG urges calm, warns against misinformation

Continuing, Pate said the government had strengthened preparedness in federal hospitals and urged state governments to ensure adequate bed capacity, functional isolation facilities and strict infection prevention measures.

He called for closer cooperation between public health authorities and private medical practitioners, stressing that suspected cases must be promptly identified and reported.

The minister advised Nigerians to wash their hands frequently and avoid contact with the blood and other body fluids of suspected or infected persons.

“Ebola is not an airborne disease. It is transmitted through direct contact with infected body fluids,” he said.

He added that the government was monitoring the situation and would rely on scientific evidence in deciding whether to alter plans for conferences, campaigns and other public gatherings.

The government also warned against spreading unverified claims on social media, urging people identified through contact tracing to comply with quarantine and isolation directives.

Pate said Nigeria had the experience and expertise to contain the outbreak, citing the country’s successful management of the 2014 Ebola outbreak.

He urged Nigerians to remain calm, rely on information from recognised public health authorities and cooperate with measures aimed at preventing further transmission.

Anayo Okoli, Steve Oko, Chioma Obinna, Vincent Ujumadu, Ugochukwu Alaribe, Jeff Agbodo, Emmanuel Iheaka,  & Chidinma Chukwu