The Federal Government has confirmed a case of the Ebola virus in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
According to the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, the imported case of Ebola virus disease was confirmed by laboratory testing.
Speaking at a media briefing in Abuja on Tuesday, Pate said the patient is a woman with a recent travel history to East Africa, particularly Uganda, who returned to Nigeria with symptoms on September 7th, which progressed four days later before tests confirmed the infection.
He said the patient is currently in isolation and receiving medical care, and contact tracing has commenced, with forty-four contacts already identified, as surveillance is strengthened at the country’s entry points.
“The patient, a woman who recently arrived in Nigeria on an international flight from Uganda, was admitted to a private hospital… where she received care for several days before the diagnosis was confirmed,” a government statement said. “She is currently in isolation and receiving medical care.”
Pate explained that the Ministry of Health, the FCT Health Secretariat, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, and other partners are working together to contain the infection and prevent further spread.
While urging public and private health facilities to remain on high alert, stressing that health workers must maintain a high index of suspicion for possible cases, he called on Nigerians to remain calm and vigilant.
The minister advised the public to practise good hygiene, watch out for symptoms including fever, weakness, headache and diarrhoea, and cooperate with public health officials.
He maintained that the situation is being managed, with the government pledging timely and transparent updates as efforts continue to contain the virus.
The health minister said the government is drawing on Nigeria’s experience in containing the 2014 Ebola outbreak and the public health mechanisms established over the years, adding that all identified contacts are being traced and monitored.
Monday’s announcement came following the outbreak of the disease in DR Congo and the confirmation of Ebola cases in Kenya.
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