The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has raised concerns over the high risk of an Ebola outbreak in Nigeria following the continued spread of the disease in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda, as well as increasing cross-border movement and international travel.
Although no Ebola case has been recorded in Nigeria, the agency said it had intensified preparedness and surveillance measures over fears of a possible regional spread of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD).
In a statement issued on Sunday, the Director-General of the NCDC, Jide Idris, said the agency’s latest risk assessment indicated a strong possibility of the virus being imported into the country.
According to him, the risk is being driven by ongoing transmission of the virus in the DRC and Uganda, population movement, international travel, uncertainty over the actual scale of the outbreak, and the likelihood of delayed detection since Ebola symptoms are similar to those of malaria and Lassa fever.
The agency revealed that it had identified states considered vulnerable because of their proximity to international borders, major transport routes, and entry points.
The NCDC added that response efforts were already underway in affected regions of the DRC and Uganda, including surveillance, contact tracing, infection prevention, laboratory testing, and public sensitisation campaigns.
It further disclosed that Nigeria’s National Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) had been placed on alert mode, while the incident management system had been activated to improve coordination and emergency response in case of an outbreak.
The agency noted that Nigeria still possesses vital response capacities built from previous outbreaks, including trained rapid response teams, operational emergency centres, and laboratories equipped to handle viral haemorrhagic diseases.
The NCDC also stated that laboratories in states with international entry points had been placed on standby, while public awareness and misinformation management campaigns had been strengthened to combat false claims surrounding the disease.
