Following new outbreaks in some parts of Africa, the federal government has designated 21 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as regions at high or moderate risk of Ebola importation. This was revealed on Thursday by the Nigeria Center for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), which issued a heightened Ebola preparation notice to all states in the nation due to concerns about cross-border transmission. Nigeria presently has no confirmed Ebola cases connected to the continuing outbreak in East and Central Africa, according to NCDC Director-General Jide Idris, but he cautioned that rising regional transmission has greatly increased the country's importation risk.
The organization claims that because of its international airports, porous land borders, and active travel and commerce routes, Lagos, the Federal Capital Territory, Rivers, Kano, Enugu, Borno, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Taraba, and Adamawa were categorized as high-risk states.
Ogun, Nasarawa, Kaduna, Plateau, Kogi, Niger, Jigawa, Katsina, Bauchi, Ebonyi, Abia, and Bayelsa were also identified by the NCDC as moderate-risk states that needed ongoing monitoring and preparation.
According to Mr. Idris, the designation came after the agency carried out a new dynamic risk assessment in reaction to an increase in Ebola cases in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). He claimed that the World Health Organization's designation of the epidemic as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern highlighted the necessity for Nigeria to rapidly bolster national preparedness measures.
Ebola symptoms are similar to those of malaria and Lassa fever, which increases the risk of delayed discovery and potential transmission, the NCDC cautioned. The organization reports that 1,077 suspected Ebola cases and 247 deaths have been reported by health authorities in the DRC and Uganda, with the majority of infections occurring in people between the ages of 14 and 45.
The organization stated that there are no licensed vaccines or targeted treatments for the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, which is responsible for the current outbreak.
According to Mr. Idris, in order to limit infections, quick detection, isolation, contact tracing, infection prevention, and supportive treatment are essential. He emphasized that direct contact with infected blood, bodily fluids, contaminated surfaces, or infected animals is the primary way that Ebola is transmitted; it is not airborne.
State governments were advised by the NCDC to set up isolation facilities, bolster border and airport surveillance, activate emergency planning procedures, and guarantee that frontline health personnel are adequately protected.
Additionally, the government instructed states to report any suspected Ebola cases, unusual fever clusters, or high-risk exposure occurrences right away and to submit preparedness reports within 72 hours. After an infected Liberian-American traveler arrived in Lagos in 2014, Nigeria was able to contain Ebola, which led to one of the biggest public health crises in the nation's recent history.
