NCDC Tracks 53 Ebola Contacts, Directs Hospitals to Isolate Suspects

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has identified 53 contacts of the country’s confirmed Ebola patient and directed hospitals nationwide to isolate suspected cases immediately without waiting for laboratory results.

The agency’s Director-General, Dr Jide Idris, issued the directive following confirmation of an Ebola infection caused by the Bundibugyo virus in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on October 20. He warned that early detection, prompt isolation and strict infection prevention measures were essential to preventing further transmission.

According to the NCDC’s Ebola Disease Situation Report dated October 24, the patient, a 42-year-old woman who returned to Nigeria from Uganda through Addis Ababa on October 3, had shown considerable improvement while receiving treatment in isolation.

The 53 identified contacts include healthcare workers, domestic staff and the patient’s spouse. They have been categorised for follow-up, with monitoring scheduled to continue for 21 days after their last possible exposure.

Idris said the confirmed case demonstrated the importance of surveillance systems and the vigilance of healthcare workers in detecting infectious diseases.

He stressed that hospitals must immediately separate suspected Ebola patients from others and notify the relevant public health authorities, warning that medical personnel should not wait for laboratory confirmation before taking precautions.

The patient’s case was first reported by a private health facility on October 19. The situation report indicated that she developed symptoms on October 7, four days after arriving in Nigeria.

Her symptoms included fever, diarrhoea, general body aches and a sore throat. She visited a private health facility on October 10 and was admitted to another private facility the following day. The NCDC was notified on October 19, and laboratory tests confirmed the infection on October 20. No bleeding was reported in the case details.

Following confirmation, the NCDC activated its national incident management system at the highest level. Response efforts are being coordinated through its Emergency Operations Centre in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, FCT authorities and partner organisations.

The measures include surveillance, contact tracing, laboratory investigations, infection prevention and control, public communication and efforts to strengthen preparedness across healthcare facilities.

The agency directed hospitals to maintain effective screening and triage systems, separate suspected cases promptly, notify public health authorities and apply appropriate infection prevention measures.

These precautions include regular hand hygiene, environmental cleaning, injection safety, safe handling of sharp objects, proper waste disposal and the correct use of personal protective equipment.

The NCDC said the measures were intended to prevent exposure among other patients, healthcare workers and caregivers before a suspected infection could be confirmed.

In a related development, a suspected Ebola case reported in Rivers State on October 23 tested negative, according to the agency’s situation report.

The result meant the Rivers State alert had not produced another confirmed case in the report, although the NCDC said continued surveillance and investigation of suspected cases remained necessary.

Idris also urged the public to cooperate with contact-tracing teams and avoid stigmatising people identified as contacts, explaining that being listed as a contact did not mean someone had contracted Ebola.

He warned that misinformation could fuel fear, discourage people from reporting symptoms and undermine efforts to contain the infection. The agency advised Nigerians to rely on official information and cooperate with public health officials.

The NCDC said lessons from Nigeria’s response to the 2014 Ebola outbreak were informing current preparedness and containment measures.

As part of the investigation into the confirmed case, genomic sequencing was completed by the NCDC’s National Reference Laboratory and the African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases.

The agency maintained that early reporting, effective surveillance, timely isolation and strict infection prevention measures remained central to containing the confirmed case and detecting any further infections.