Nigeria is intensifying efforts to contain the Ebola virus disease outbreak, with plans to evacuate the confirmed index case abroad for further medical treatment as health authorities step up surveillance, contact tracing and laboratory testing.
A source familiar with the development said arrangements had been made to fly the 42-year-old woman out of the country at 6am on Monday, adding that a medical evacuation aircraft was already waiting at the airport.
“The medivac plane is already at the airport waiting to evacuate her,” the source said, noting that the Federal Government was expected to announce the development after the patient had departed Nigeria.
The planned evacuation comes as the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) confirmed that two suspected Ebola cases recorded in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and Rivers State had tested negative.
The agency also disclosed that 53 primary contacts of the confirmed case had been identified and were being monitored, while the Federal Government was considering a weekly allowance of N100,000 to cover the feeding and upkeep of individuals placed in quarantine.
The proposed welfare package followed complaints from contacts over the conditions of their quarantine. The arrangement, however, is expected to be temporary, with state governments subsequently taking responsibility for contacts within their jurisdictions.
Speaking at a press briefing in Abuja, the Director-General of the NCDC, Dr Jide Idris, said the country had confirmed one case of Ebola disease caused by the Bundibugyo virus.
“As previously announced, Nigeria has confirmed one case of Ebola disease caused by the Bundibugyo virus. The patient is currently receiving medical care under isolation, with infection prevention and control measures in place. Clinical teams continue to monitor and manage patient’s condition,” he said.
Idris said the search for additional secondary contacts was ongoing, assuring Nigerians that the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the NCDC, FCT health authorities and development partners were working together to prevent further transmission.
According to him, the 53 primary contacts include 44 personnel from the hospital where the index case is receiving treatment, while other contacts include individuals linked to the patient and people who attended to her.
He added that samples collected from the patient's husband tested negative. The two suspected cases in the FCT and Rivers State also returned negative results, although further follow-up would be conducted.
On the identity and background of the index case, Idris said the woman was Ugandan and married to a Swiss national. He explained that investigations were ongoing to establish her precise travel history and other relevant details.
The NCDC chief said Nigerian officials would hold a virtual meeting with their Ugandan counterparts to exchange information that could assist the investigation.
Idris explained that the case was detected through event-based surveillance after vigilant healthcare workers identified clinical features that raised concerns about a possible Ebola infection.
He said the national response was being coordinated through a structured Incident Management System under the Emergency Operations Centre, with oversight from the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate, and the Presidential Task Force on Ebola Virus Disease.
The response strategy includes identifying and monitoring contacts for 21 days, providing safe clinical care, strengthening infection prevention and control in health facilities, expanding surveillance and laboratory capacity, and engaging communities to improve public awareness.
Idris disclosed that the NCDC was receiving support from the Department of State Services (DSS) to trace contacts and had expanded the case definition used for community surveillance.
He added that efforts were underway to strengthen the genomic testing capabilities of 12 laboratories to improve the country's capacity to detect and investigate Ebola infections.
The University of Abuja Teaching Hospital had also been designated as a special isolation centre, while the premises associated with the index case had been fumigated as part of the containment measures.
Appealing for public cooperation, Idris urged Nigerians to provide accurate information to contact-tracing teams and comply with public health advisories.
“An identified contact does not mean you have Ebola. It means public health teams need to assess and monitor your health,” he said.
He advised members of the public to maintain proper hand hygiene, avoid contact with the blood and other body fluids of suspected cases, and promptly report symptoms or other relevant concerns to health authorities.
The NCDC director-general commended the healthcare workers whose vigilance led to the detection of the case and called on public and private health facilities to strengthen screening, triage procedures and the availability of personal protective equipment.
Recalling his experience coordinating Lagos State's response to the 2014 Ebola outbreak while serving as commissioner for health, Idris said lessons from that experience, particularly in leadership, coordination and public trust, were being applied to the current response.
He also warned against misinformation and the stigmatisation of suspected cases and their contacts, urging Nigerians to rely on verified information from the NCDC and the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.
“The government has worked hard to strengthen the surveillance system and boost capacities of disease testing laboratories. Success depends on the whole of society,” he said, adding that the patient was improving.
Ebola, brain drain dominate West African physicians' summit
Meanwhile, the threat posed by Ebola and other infectious diseases, the migration of medical professionals and persistent infrastructure deficits will feature prominently as the West African College of Physicians (WACP) begins its 50th anniversary summit in Abuja on Monday.
The week-long gathering is expected to attract more than 1,300 medical experts from across West Africa to examine the region's healthcare challenges and develop recommendations for the next 50 years.
The summit follows an earlier visit by the College's leadership to President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, where the President urged the physicians to help develop practical solutions to the region's most pressing health sector problems.
Speaking at a press conference on Saturday, WACP President, Dr Mamadou Mourtalla, said the meeting would assess developments in healthcare, including scientific discoveries, professional training, infrastructure development and the control of infectious diseases.
“We’ll be discussing various perspectives, how to deal with the pandemic, an epidemic coming up in Africa which puts a lot of stress on our health system. We have over 70 scientific papers based on this theme. At the end, we usually issue a communique,” Mourtalla said.
He stressed that implementing the summit's recommendations would be as important as the discussions themselves.
According to him, the President of the ECOWAS Commission, the Director-General of the West African Health Organisation and representatives of the Nigerian government are expected to participate in deliberations aimed at producing recommendations for regional leaders.
Mourtalla said President Tinubu had indicated that the Minister of Health would represent him at the event.
The WACP Assistant Secretary-General, Dr Habibu Galadanci, said the conference would examine several challenges, including the migration of health professionals, inadequate medical infrastructure, the growing burden of non-communicable diseases and recurring infectious disease outbreaks.
He identified kidney disease, hypertension and other chronic conditions, alongside Ebola and similar epidemics, as issues requiring coordinated regional responses.
“The scientific content will touch on several aspects of medicine, including disease conditions, health policies and contemporary medical issues,” Galadanci said.
On the continued departure of Nigerian and other West African health professionals for opportunities abroad, Galadanci said the summit would devote an entire session to examining the factors driving the trend and the incentives attracting professionals to foreign health systems.
“There are pull dynamics, push dynamics, and we are going to look at that and find solutions. When we saw President Tinubu, that was one main thing he charged us with, that we should discuss Japa syndrome and find solutions,” he said.
The discussions will also cover the application of artificial intelligence in medicine, ethical considerations in patient management, maternal and reproductive healthcare, and access to safe medical services for women and children.
Mental health priorities, the development of performance scorecards for public hospitals, dementia and the growing healthcare needs of ageing populations are also expected to feature.
Galadanci described the anniversary as an opportunity to assess the College's achievements over five decades, identify unresolved challenges and determine priorities for the future.
“We still have a lot of problems, but we have come a long way, at least we can train our doctors. We have specialists, so many doctors that they poach them from outside because of how good we are,” he said.
He noted that despite the region's challenges, the development of medical training and specialist expertise represented significant progress that could be strengthened through better working conditions, infrastructure and retention policies.
As part of its corporate social responsibility activities, WACP members organised a medical outreach in Waru, a community in the FCT, on Saturday.
The outreach attracted men, women and children who benefited from free healthcare services, underscoring the College's efforts to extend medical services beyond formal hospital settings.
The anniversary summit is expected to provide a platform for medical professionals, policymakers and regional health institutions to develop proposals addressing the challenges confronting West Africa's healthcare systems over the coming decades.