The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention says two more suspected cases of Ebola virus disease have been identified, with 53 primary contacts traced so far.
The Director-General of the centre, Dr. Jide Idris, disclosed this during a press briefing in Abuja on Sunday.
Idris said the two new suspected cases have been established alongside 53 persons identified as primary contacts, noting that the centre has made provision for both isolation and quarantine.
“We have established two additional suspected cases and 53 primary contact links. They are primary contacts. We have an isolation centre and a quarantine centre,” he said.
He explained that the NCDC has about 12 public and private laboratories equipped to test for Ebola, stressing that laboratory capacity has been strengthened to contain any potential spread.
According to him, the agency is sustaining heightened surveillance across the country and improving its lab systems to ensure all suspected cases are quickly investigated and tested.
The NCDC boss called on health facilities, both public and private, to reinforce their screening, triage and infection prevention protocols, and to ensure that health workers are provided with adequate personal protective equipment.
He added that public health teams have been deployed to identify and follow up on individuals who may have been exposed to the confirmed case, with monitoring to last for 21 days from their last possible exposure.
Idris also appealed to members of the public who are contacted by health officials to cooperate fully with contact-tracing efforts by giving accurate information on their movements, contacts and symptoms.
Recall that a 42-year-old Ugandan-born woman who lives in Abuja tested positive for the virus on October 20, becoming the country’s first confirmed Ebola patient in more than a decade.
The patient and her husband had both travelled to Uganda earlier this month. Her husband is currently in isolation but has not developed any symptoms, according to the Swiss foreign ministry.