The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has reported two suspected Ebola cases as the number of people traced after Nigeria’s confirmed infection increased to 53.
NCDC Director-General, Dr Jide Idris, disclosed this during a press briefing in Abuja on Sunday, October 25, as health officials stepped up efforts to stop the virus from spreading.
“We have established two additional suspected cases and 53 primary contact links. They are primary contacts. We have an isolation centre and a quarantine centre,” he said.
However, other reports said the agency had investigated two cases, including the confirmed infection in Abuja and a suspected case in Rivers State that later tested negative. The status of the two additional suspected cases reported by TheCable remained unclear.
Idris said 44 contacts were linked to the healthcare facility where the confirmed patient received treatment. Nine others included three household members, three healthcare workers from an earlier facility and three sample collection personnel.
All 53 contacts were classified by exposure risk and placed under monitoring. None had tested positive or developed symptoms as of the briefing. They will be monitored for 21 days after their last possible exposure.
Idris said about 12 public and private laboratories could test for Ebola in Nigeria. He urged hospitals to improve screening, patient assessment and infection prevention, provide protective equipment and report suspected cases quickly.
He also urged people contacted by health officials to cooperate and provide accurate information about their movements, exposure and symptoms.
Nigeria confirmed its first case in the current regional outbreak on October 20 after a woman who recently travelled to Uganda tested positive for the Bundibugyo strain in Abuja.
The World Health Organisation said she developed symptoms on October 7 and visited a private health facility on October 11 before laboratory tests confirmed the infection.
The government has strengthened surveillance, testing, isolation and infection prevention measures. Health officials urged Nigerians to remain vigilant, cooperate with investigators and avoid spreading unverified information.
The two suspected cases should not be treated as confirmed infections without laboratory results.
