NCDC names Lagos, FCT, Rivers, Kano, others high-risk states for Ebola importation

NCDC names Lagos, FCT, Rivers, Kano, others high-risk states for Ebola importation

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has listed Lagos, the Federal Capital Territory, Rivers, Kano, Enugu, Borno, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Taraba and Adamawa among states at high risk of Ebola importation following the ongoing outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.

The agency linked the development to increasing international travel, regional population movement, porous borders and uncertainty over the full scale of the outbreak.

It also identified Ogun, Nasarawa, Kaduna, Plateau, Kogi, Niger, Jigawa, Katsina, Bauchi, Ebonyi, Abia and Bayelsa as states facing moderate risk.

According to the NCDC, the high-risk states serve as major trade and travel corridors with international airports, seaports, porous borders and busy ground crossings.

The agency noted that although all states and the FCT must sustain Ebola preparedness measures, the level of readiness should reflect the degree of risk associated with importation and transmission.

The Director-General of the NCDC, Dr. Jide Idris, made this known in a public health advisory released on Thursday in Abuja.

He disclosed that 1,077 suspected cases and 247 deaths had been recorded in the DRC and Uganda, with a case fatality rate reaching 24.6 per cent.

Idris said the outbreak had mostly affected persons between the ages of 14 and 45, adding that both regional and national risks remain high.

He further revealed that suspected cases had been reported in India, while Canada recently suspended travel applications from residents of the DRC, Uganda and South Sudan over the outbreak.

According to him, Uganda has also announced border closure measures.

“The current Bundibugyo virus outbreak has no licensed vaccines or approved targeted therapeutics. Existing Ebola vaccines and monoclonal antibody treatments are primarily directed against the Zaire ebolavirus and should therefore not be relied upon as available countermeasures for this outbreak strain,” he said.

Idris stressed that Nigeria had not recorded any confirmed case of the disease at the time the advisory was issued.

However, he explained that a Dynamic Risk Assessment carried out by the NCDC and its partners showed that the risk of Ebola importation into Nigeria remains high because of ongoing regional transmission, international travel, porous land borders, informal crossings, trade routes and the similarity between Ebola symptoms and other common illnesses such as malaria and Lassa fever.

He said the country’s preparedness strategy is designed to ensure every state and the FCT can rapidly detect, contain and respond to suspected cases while safeguarding health workers and maintaining essential health services.

The NCDC boss listed early detection, prompt isolation, infection prevention and control, contact tracing, safe burial practices, community engagement and surveillance as critical outbreak response measures.

He also highlighted the absence of strain-specific vaccines and approved treatments for the Bundibugyo virus, noting that early supportive care remains essential.

According to him, effective management should include close clinical monitoring, treatment of malaria or bacterial co-infections where necessary, management of shock, symptom control and humane care in designated isolation centres.

Idris disclosed that the NCDC had activated its National Emergency Operations Centre in alert mode to coordinate preparedness efforts with federal and state authorities.

He urged state governments, through their commissioners for health, to ensure immediate operational readiness in both public and private health facilities.

He added that states should activate public health coordination structures for Ebola preparedness, carry out rapid risk assessments around points of entry and densely populated areas, and engage healthcare providers to ensure early detection and immediate reporting of suspected cases.

The NCDC Director-General also directed states to establish at least one functional isolation or holding facility and create clear referral pathways for safe transfer and treatment of suspected cases.

He further called for improved readiness in screening, use of personal protective equipment, infection prevention and control, safe sample transportation, ambulance transfer, decontamination and waste management.

Idris added that frontline health workers must receive adequate training, protective equipment, supervision, exposure management procedures and psychosocial support.

He also urged states with airports, seaports, land borders and transport hubs to intensify traveller monitoring and surveillance efforts.