FG partners Uganda to contain Ebola case, urges Nigerians against panic

Federal Government has said it is working with Uganda to contain Nigeria’s reported Ebola case, urging Nigerians to remain vigilant and avoid spreading unverified information.

The coordinating minister of health and social welfare Muhammad Pate disclosed this on Wednesday while speaking with journalists after a meeting with the chief of staff to the President Femi Gbajabiamila at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Minister Pate said health authorities had begun contact tracing and containment measures to prevent the virus from spreading.

“All I can tell you is that we are collaborating with our sister African nation of Uganda. What is important is that we have found this one case. We are doing contact tracing, and we are putting containment measures to ensure that it doesn’t go into our population,” he said.

The minister said the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention had activated its incident management system and was coordinating the response.

He added that the government would provide updates as more information became available.

“We would be truthful to Nigerians with the information that we receive on a daily basis,” he said.

Pate urged Nigerians to follow information from public health authorities and avoid spreading rumours.

“We must be vigilant, but not panic, and people should respect public health information from trusted sources, and not spread misinformation and false rumours,” he said.

He said Nigeria had the institutions and experience needed to manage the situation, recalling the country’s response to the 2014 Ebola outbreak.

The minister described the reported infection as an imported case and said the government was taking steps to contain it.

He added that the response involved coordination among public health agencies, the Presidential Task Force on Ebola and the Office of the National Security Adviser.

Pate also said the effectiveness of the response depended partly on public cooperation, including compliance with isolation instructions.

The development follows a statement by Uganda’s Ministry of Health that it had no confirmed active Ebola cases as of October 20.

The ministry said preliminary information indicated that the Nigerian woman who tested positive for the virus had travelled to the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo for business and passed through Uganda in early October without symptoms.

It said she developed symptoms after arriving in Nigeria, adding that her transit through Uganda did not establish where she contracted the virus.

Uganda also said it had yet to receive detailed information about the woman’s travel itinerary and clinical history from Nigerian authorities to guide further investigations.

Pate had announced on Tuesday that laboratory tests confirmed Ebola in a woman who recently returned from Uganda.

Her symptoms reportedly began on October 7, and she sought treatment at a private hospital on October 11.

The minister said she was in isolation and that 44 contacts were being monitored.

The World Health Organisation identified the virus as the Bundibugyo strain, which is associated with the ongoing outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Meanwhile, the Oyo State Government said it had activated surveillance and emergency response measures, adding that no confirmed Ebola case had been recorded in the state.

The state Commissioner for Health Oluwaserimi Ajetunmobi said preparations had been under way since June to strengthen readiness for Ebola and other infectious diseases.

She said surveillance units had been activated across the state’s 33 local government areas, while infection prevention measures had been strengthened in health facilities.

Commissioner Ajetunmobi urged residents to wash their hands regularly, avoid contact with the blood and other body fluids of suspected or confirmed patients, and seek medical attention if they developed symptoms associated with Ebola.

She also advised residents to rely on official information and report suspected cases promptly.

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