The Federal Government has officially confirmed an imported case of the Ebola virus disease in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The confirmation follows the recent outbreak of the deadly viral haemorrhagic fever in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and its subsequent spread across East Africa.
The patient, a female traveller who returned to Nigeria from Uganda on October 7, is currently in isolation and receiving medical care.
Contact tracing protocols have since been activated, and have successfully identified 44 contacts, with surveillance operations tightened at all national entry points to mitigate the spread.
Addressing a media briefing in Abuja on Tuesday, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, confirmed the case, explaining that the patient developed symptoms four days after her arrival before laboratory testing confirmed the infection.
“The patient, a woman who recently arrived in Nigeria on an international flight from Uganda, was admitted to a private hospital… where she received care for several days before the diagnosis was confirmed. She is currently in isolation and receiving medical care”, Pate.
Pate assured Nigerians that the Ministry of Health, the FCT Health Secretariat, and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) have launched joint operations to contain the infection.
He urged public and private health facilities to maintain a high index of suspicion for possible cases and advised citizens to observe good hygiene and report symptoms such as fever, weakness, and diarrhoea.
All identified contacts are currently being monitored by health officials to prevent the spread of the disease.
In a related development, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has revised its travel protocols. Through an official advisory, the agency ordered travellers arriving from countries with active Ebola transmission to complete updated Health Declaration Forms, exempting passengers from non-affected nations.
The reported case in the FCT is nothing compared to the regional health crisis that began in the DRC in May. Health authorities report that the DRC epidemic has become the deadliest in the nation’s history, resulting in 4,381 fatalities out of over 9,000 confirmed cases.
The virus has rapidly spread to neighbouring countries including Kenya which recorded its ninth Ebola case on Tuesday.
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