NIGERIA INTENSIFIES SURVEILLANCE AND EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS MEASURES AGAINST EBOLA VIRUS.

Nigeria has intensified nationwide surveillance and emergency preparedness measures against Ebola Virus Disease following the increasing outbreak in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

 

In a new public health advisory issued by the Director-General of the NCDC, JIDE IDRIS, the agency stated that Nigeria has not recorded any confirmed case linked to the ongoing regional outbreak, but warned that the risk of importation remains high due to international travel, population movement and the scale of transmission in the affected East African countries.

 

The NCDC said the National Emergency Operations Centre has been placed on alert mode, while the National Incident Management System has been activated with defined reporting and escalation channels to coordinate response activities across the country.

 

The public health agency disclosed that it is strengthening collaboration with state Ministries of Health, Port Health Services and other relevant government agencies to improve national preparedness, adding that surveillance and epidemic intelligence activities have been intensified nationwide, including enhanced monitoring of unusual public health events, rumours and alerts to ensure early detection of suspected cases.

 

As part of infection prevention efforts, the NCDC said Ebola preparedness tools and checklists have been distributed to healthcare facilities across the country, while refresher training sessions are ongoing for health workers on triage systems, infection prevention protocols and the early identification of suspected viral haemorrhagic fever cases.