Nigeria has activated heightened Ebola surveillance across Lagos, the Federal Capital Territory and eight other states following the outbreak of the deadly Bundibugyo strain of Ebola Virus Disease in parts of East and Central Africa.
According to a report by Punch Newspapers, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention issued a national public health advisory warning that Nigeria faces a high risk of importing the virus due to increasing regional transmission, international travel, porous borders and population movement.
States placed on high alert include Lagos, the Federal Capital Territory, Rivers State, Kano State, Enugu State, Borno State, Akwa Ibom State, Cross River State, Taraba State and Adamawa State due to their international airports, seaports, border routes and high human traffic.
The NCDC stated that its immediate objective is to ensure all states can quickly detect, contain and respond to any suspected Ebola case while protecting health workers and maintaining essential health services.
Although Nigeria has not recorded any confirmed Ebola case, the agency said a recent risk assessment showed the threat of importation remains high. The outbreak in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo has reportedly led to 1,077 suspected cases and 247 deaths, representing a fatality rate of 24.6 per cent.
Health authorities warned that the Bundibugyo strain differs from the more common Zaire strain because there are currently no licensed vaccines or approved targeted treatments for it.
The NCDC also cautioned that Ebola symptoms may initially resemble malaria, Lassa fever and other common illnesses, making early diagnosis difficult. Health workers were advised not to wait for bleeding symptoms before suspecting Ebola in patients with compatible symptoms and travel or exposure history.
As part of emergency preparedness efforts, the agency said the National Emergency Operations Centre had already been activated in alert mode to coordinate response activities nationwide.
State governments have been directed to activate Ebola preparedness structures immediately, identify isolation centres, intensify surveillance at entry points, equip frontline health workers with personal protective equipment and begin public awareness campaigns to combat panic and misinformation.
Meanwhile, the Lagos State Government assured residents there were no confirmed or suspected Ebola cases in the state.
Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Akin Abayomi, said the state’s biosecurity architecture remained fully active and prepared to detect, contain and respond rapidly to Ebola and other infectious disease threats.
He noted that Lagos strengthened its disease response systems after the 2014 Ebola outbreak and further improved them during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nigeria’s renewed Ebola alert has revived memories of the 2014 outbreak, when infected Liberian-American traveller Patrick Sawyer arrived in Lagos and exposed several people before health authorities successfully contained the virus through aggressive contact tracing, isolation and public awareness campaigns.
The World Health Organization later praised Nigeria’s response as one of Africa’s most effective Ebola containment efforts.
