Ebola Outbreak: Nigeria is at high risk – NCDC

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has cautioned that Nigeria is at high risk of importing the deadly Ebola virus from Uganda which stands to be officially declared an outbreak on the 20th of September 2022. 

This was made known by the NCDC in a Public health advisory disseminated on Monday, October 31st. The statement noted that the Uganda Ministry of Health had reported 128 confirmed cases and 34 deaths as of 29th October 2022.

According to NCDC, their assessment indicates Nigeria is at risk, explaining that based on available data and the risk assessment that has been conducted, Nigeria is at high risk of importing the virus. 

The statement in part said:

“This risk is due to the large volume of air travel between Nigeria and Uganda and the mixing of passengers, especially at the regional travel hubs of Nairobi, Addis Ababa, and Kigali airports and the additional risk from other neighbouring countries that share a direct border with Uganda should cases arise in other countries in the region. 

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The outputs from this risk assessment are being used to initiate preparedness activities in-country.”

Speaking on the measures taken by the NCDC to mitigate the impact of a potential Ebola outbreak in Nigeria the agency outlined them as follows:

•  The NCDC Incident Coordination Centre (ICC) is now in alert mode.
•  Development of an incident action plan for the first few cases of EVD has commenced
•  POE surveillance has been heightened using the passenger pre-boarding health declaration and screening form in the Nigeria International Travel Portal (NITP) platform.
•  Passengers arriving from Uganda and persons who transited in Uganda are being followed up for 21 days after they arrived in Nigeria for their health status.
•  Trained Rapid Response Teams are on standby to be deployed in the event of an outbreak.
•  All State Public Health Emergency Operations Centres (PHEOCs) are in alert mode.
•  A medical countermeasures plan is available.
•  Amplification of risk communication and engagement with states and partners to strengthen preparedness activities which include– a review of risk communication protocols, plans, and messages in the event of an outbreak.
•  Nigeria has an active infection prevention and control (IPC) programme nationwide with guidelines and training packages developed for healthcare workers.

The NCDC urged Nigerian citizens and residents to avoid all but essential travel to Uganda for now until public health authorities have determined the outbreak to be contained.