By Franca Ofili
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) says it has
intensified surveillance and preparedness measures nationwide over the Ebola
outbreak in parts of Africa.
The agency said the move followed the World Health Organisation’s declaration of
the outbreak as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.
The Director-General of NCDC, Dr Jide Idris, disclosed this in a statement on
Sunday in Abuja.
Idris said though Nigeria had not recorded any confirmed case of Ebola Virus
Disease (EVD) linked to the current regional outbreak, he however, said the
agency had maintained heightened surveillance and preparedness activities across
the country in response to rising cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo and
Uganda.
According to him, NCDC conducted a dynamic risk assessment which estimated
the risk of Ebola importation into Nigeria as high due to international travel,
population movement and uncertainty surrounding the outbreak’s full scale and
noted that delayed recognition of the disease remained a concern because
symptoms of Ebola overlap with endemic diseases in Nigeria such as malaria and
Lassa fever.
Idris said high-risk states, border communities, major transport hubs and Points of
Entry had been identified for priority interventions, adding that Nigeria retained
strong response capacities, including laboratory capability, trained Rapid Response
Teams, functional Emergency Operations Centres and existing Viral Haemorrhagic
Fever preparedness structures.
He said that the country’s previous experience in successfully containing Ebola and
other haemorrhagic fever outbreaks had strengthened current preparedness efforts.
“The National Emergency Operations Centre is on alert mode for heightened
preparedness, with the National Incident Management System activated and clear
coordination, reporting and escalation pathways in place,” he said.
Idris said epidemiologists and Rapid Response Teams had been placed on alert for
possible deployment, while coordination with State Ministries of Health, Port
Health Services and relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies was being
strengthened.
He said ongoing preparedness monitoring, readiness assessments and situation
reporting were also underway at national and sub-national levels.
The NCDC boss added that the agency had intensified event-based surveillance
and epidemic intelligence nationwide, including enhanced monitoring of alerts,
rumours and unusual public health events.
According to him, enhanced surveillance activities are also ongoing at Points of
Entry and border communities where the risk of importation is highest, adding that
Ebola Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) readiness tools and checklists had
been distributed to health facilities, while refresher sensitisation for healthcare
workers on IPC protocols and early identification of suspected cases was ongoing.
