Nigeria’s Ebola response has come under renewed focus following the identification of two additional suspected cases of the disease, with health authorities tracking 53 primary contacts to prevent further transmission.
The Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), Jide Idris, disclosed this on Sunday during a press briefing in Abuja.
The development comes days after Nigeria confirmed its first imported case of Ebola virus disease in the Federal Capital Territory on October 20, following laboratory tests on a woman who had travelled to the country from Uganda.
The 53 contacts include people who may have been exposed to the confirmed patient, according to details released by health authorities. The NCDC is working to monitor those identified and determine whether any develop symptoms.
However, the emergence of two additional suspected cases does not mean Nigeria has recorded two more confirmed infections. Further investigations and laboratory tests are required to establish their status.
Health authorities have intensified surveillance, contact tracing and other response measures as part of efforts to prevent the virus from spreading beyond the confirmed case.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Muhammad Ali Pate, had earlier assured Nigerians that the government was working to contain the outbreak, adding that the confirmed patient was responding to treatment.
The NCDC is expected to provide further details on the two suspected cases as investigations progress, while Nigerians are urged to remain vigilant and rely on verified information from public health authorities.