The Zamfara State Government has commenced screening for the Ebola Virus Disease by deploying specialised medical personnel to the Gusau International Airport and major motor parks across the state.
The public health measure is designed to ensure early detection and prevent the spread of the viral disease within the region.
The State Commissioner for Health, Nafisa Maradun, officially flagged off the surveillance operations at the Gusau International Airport. During the initial screening phase, medical teams isolated a passenger with an elevated body temperature who had just arrived in the state capital after returning from Saudi Arabia.
Following the statewide deployment, the state government directed all public and private health facilities, disease surveillance officers, and local government health authorities to activate their emergency response protocol and to enforce strict infection prevention and control mechanisms across all clinical settings.
The Director of Public Health Services, Yusuf Abubakar, proposed an inter-agency collaborative framework involving the Nigeria Customs Service, Nigeria Immigration Service, and the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW).
“The Customs and Immigration Services will support surveillance at border entry points, while the NURTW will assist in monitoring passengers at motor parks and alerting relevant authorities to suspected cases,” Abubakar stated.
Abubakar also instructed disease surveillance officers across the 14 local government areas of the state to effect routine checks and surveillance and to report suspected cases to the state health network.
The state health ministry has already commenced mandatory temperature screenings, the sensitisation of health workers, and the identification of passengers of interest. Health facilities across the state are currently ordered to upgrade their triage procedures, early case identification, and safe referral systems.
The ministry urged all relevant stakeholders to maintain strict compliance with established public health guidelines.
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