The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, NCDC, has disclosed that the Ebola disease is being handled with seriousness to ensure that it’s quickly contained in the country.
The Director General of the agency, Dr Jide Idris made the remark saying two suspected Ebola cases have been identified in the Federal capital Territory, FCT, and Rivers state, noting however that the case in River state has tested negative to the disease.
Dr Idris made the announcement barely a week after the Minister of Health, Prof Mohammed Ali Pate confirmed that one case has been identified in the country, and that the case and over 40 persons he made direct contacts, including family members and friends have been place under close monitoring.
Since the federal government broke the news that an Ebola case have been found in the country, apprehension has mounted among not a few Nigerians who are now taking extra measures to protect themselves, even as the government at various levels are currently on high alert to contain the disease from spreading,
According to Dr Idris, the case in the FCT remained the only one in the country, with 53 persons traced to the person as primary contacts identified and categorized being followed up as part of the contact tracing effort to ensure the disease is not spread through them.
Dr Idris said the contacts being monitored for possible symptoms include: family members, healthcare workers, domestic staff and individuals who may have been exposed to the primary patient, adding that all the health agencies at the federal and state levels , including the Federal Ministry of Health, NCDC and other technical partners are working together to ensure that the disease is quickly contained.
He stressed that Ebola is a very serious disease that must be contained immediately, saying the government is not handling it with kid gloves, as it had deployed experience experts in the country to tackle the spread of the disease.
“Ebola is a serious disease, and we are handling the situation with the urgency it deserves. We have a clear response plan, experienced personnel and an established public health system that have been deployed to break Ebola transmission,” Idris said.
He noted that contact tracing remained a critical component of the response, urging well-meaning Nigerians identified as contacts to cooperate with public health officials by providing accurate information about their movements, contacts and any symptoms they might have experienced.
He also stated that the fact a patient has been identified as a contact does not mean that such has the disease, saying it only means that public health teams need to assess and monitor the person so that any possible infection can be identified early for containment.
Meanwhile, the federal government has approved a ₦100,000 weekly payment for individuals placed under isolation or quarantine in the FCT, to serve as stipends for their feeding and to douse tension in the nation’s capital amid ongoing efforts to stop its spread.
“Just to douse the tension, we decided we would do this. We provide N100,000 per person per week just to maintain their comfort and feeding because they were complaining,” Idris said.
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