The Federal Government has stepped up preparations for a possible spread of Ebola in Nigeria, with plans to identify and equip treatment centres in states with designated ports of entry as the number of identified contacts linked to the country’s confirmed case rises to 53.
The measures include assessing isolation capacity at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital (UATH), evaluating the preparedness of Karu General Hospital in Abuja and establishing referral mechanisms to ensure suspected cases are promptly transferred to appropriate treatment facilities.
According to an Ebola situation report obtained by our correspondent on Sunday, the government is also strengthening surveillance at airports and other ports of entry, expanding laboratory capacity and improving infection prevention and control measures in healthcare facilities.
Under its next steps for case management, the report listed the “identification and optimisation of treatment centres in states with designated POEs,” referring to designated ports of entry, as a priority.
It added that UATH had undergone a needs assessment and optimisation for isolation and treatment, while an infection prevention and control assessment was planned for Karu General Hospital to determine its capacity to accommodate a possible increase in isolation needs.
The government is also working to establish referral arrangements for suspected cases, including transfers from the point of detection to designated treatment centres.
The development comes as the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) approved an emergency payment of N100,000 per person weekly to support people placed in isolation or quarantine.
NCDC Director-General, Dr Jide Idris, disclosed the intervention during a press briefing on Sunday, explaining that it followed complaints from contacts about the cost of feeding, accommodation and supporting their families while complying with public health monitoring requirements.
“We are paying for their accommodation; we are paying for their feeding. Some of them are asking for a stipend to maintain their families,” Idris said.
He added, “We are providing N100,000 per person per week just to maintain their comfort and feeding, because they were complaining.”
According to him, the payment was not included in the original response plan but became necessary because of the emergency.
“This was not planned for, but it is an emergency. We will continue to review it as we go along,” he said.
Idris also urged state governments to make adequate financial and logistical provisions for public health emergencies, stressing that the responsibility for supporting contacts and implementing response measures should not rest with the Federal Government or the Federal Capital Territory alone.
“This is not the responsibility of the FCT alone. What we have to do for the FCT, we have to do for any other state, just in case,” he said.
The situation report stated that 53 contacts had been identified, listed and categorised, up from the initial 44 announced following confirmation of the Ebola case in the FCT.
Idris explained that 44 of the 53 primary contacts were linked to the health facility where the patient was treated, while the remaining nine included household members and people who attended to her during an earlier visit to an emergency room.
The NCDC is also identifying secondary contacts to establish whether any of the people already under monitoring may have exposed others.
“For each person, we are going to ask questions. We have to establish who they have been in contact with. If we can identify those people, they will also be monitored,” Idris said.
He added that contacts would be monitored daily and that anyone developing symptoms would be assessed promptly. One contact who reported feeling unwell had tested negative, although surveillance and follow-up activities were continuing.
The agency has also revised its Ebola case definition to guide health workers and surveillance teams in identifying suspected infections. The criteria cover people with sudden fever and specified symptoms alongside relevant travel or epidemiological links, unexplained bleeding, or symptoms following contact with a confirmed or probable case.
The report further disclosed that genomic sequencing of the confirmed case had been completed by the NCDC National Reference Laboratory and the African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases. The next steps include sharing the sequencing report, continuing diagnostic testing and maintaining laboratory records.
Additional laboratory reagents and supplies are also expected to be positioned across the national laboratory network to support testing for Ebola virus disease.
To strengthen infection prevention, the government is assessing healthcare facilities, reinforcing standard operating procedures and preparing to implement an infection prevention and control ring strategy across designated perimeters to improve screening and isolation.
The NCDC is also intensifying training for healthcare workers, particularly at subnational level, to improve their ability to detect, stabilise and refer suspected cases. The report said the national stockpile of personal protective equipment and other essential supplies had been increased, with 500 donated laboratory testing kits incorporated into the stockpile.
Surveillance at airports and other ports of entry is also being strengthened, while Port Health Services has conducted investigations with aviation stakeholders. The government plans to improve preparedness in high-risk states and sustain public communication to address misinformation and encourage cooperation with contact-tracing teams.
The confirmed case involves a woman who travelled to Nigeria after visiting Uganda, following a trip to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Health authorities said she developed symptoms on October 7, sought medical attention in Abuja on October 11 and tested positive for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola virus on October 20.
The World Health Organisation is continuing investigations to establish the likely source of the infection.
The Bundibugyo strain has been associated with outbreaks in parts of Central and East Africa. Its detection in Nigeria has heightened the need for regional surveillance, prompt diagnosis and coordination among public health authorities.
The national incident management system has been activated under the coordination of the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, with an Incident Action Plan guiding activities across surveillance, laboratory services, case management, logistics, port health and risk communication.
Nigeria previously contained an Ebola outbreak in 2014 through rapid case identification, isolation, contact tracing and coordinated public health interventions. Authorities are drawing on those experiences to strengthen preparedness and limit the risk of further transmission.
The NCDC has urged Nigerians to remain calm, practise regular hand hygiene and avoid direct contact with the blood and other body fluids of people suspected of having Ebola or contaminated materials.
It also advised the public to report unexplained deaths and symptoms suggestive of the disease, particularly where there is a history of possible exposure, while warning against stigmatising people placed under monitoring.
