….Rivers Suspected Case Tests Negative,
…53 Contacts Under Monitoring
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, NCDC, has reported two suspected cases of Ebola Virus Disease, EVD, with only one confirmed case so far.
The Director-General of the NCDC, Dr Jide Idris, disclosed this while briefing journalists on the situation on Saturday, October 25.
He explained that the two suspected cases were recorded in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, and Rivers State, respectively, but the suspected case in Rivers State has now tested negative.
He said the confirmed case in the FCT remained the only confirmed infection in the country, with 53 primary contacts identified and categorised for follow-up as part of ongoing contact-tracing activities.
According to him, the contacts include healthcare workers, domestic staff and individuals who may have been exposed to the confirmed patient, while public health teams are monitoring them for symptoms.
Idris said the national incident management system had been activated to coordinate response activities involving the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the NCDC, FCT health authorities, other relevant government agencies and technical partners.
He assured Nigerians that the government was committed to containing the outbreak, adding that experienced personnel and established public health systems had been deployed to prevent further transmission.
“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,” he said.
Last week, a diplomat’s wife who recently returned from a trip to Uganda tested positive to the virus in the FCT. Initially, 44 contacts were traced to her and were being monitored, but the number has now increased to 53.
“As of now, we have 53 primary contacts. These comprise 44 people from the health facility where the patient was treated and nine additional contacts.
“Of the nine additional contacts, three are household members of the patient, her driver, chef and husband. Three others attended to her at Julius Berger Clinic before she got to the other facility, while the remaining three are members of the team who went to collect samples,” he said.
According to him, none of the identified contacts had tested positive for Ebola or developed symptoms as of the time of the briefing.
