The Federal Government confirmed its first Ebola case of the current outbreak on Tuesday, after a woman who arrived in the capital from Uganda tested positive for the virus, prompting an urgent effort by health authorities to trace 44 close contacts.
The government assured the public that the contacts are being monitored and that necessary measures have been activated to prevent further spread of the virus.
Minister of Health and Social Welfare Muhammad Ali Pate said the patient had been admitted to a private hospital in Abuja, where she received treatment for several days before laboratory tests confirmed the infection.
She is now in isolation and receiving medical care, according to a statement from the ministry.
The ministry and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) are working with Federal Capital Territory ( FCT) health officials to contain the infection.
Public-health teams have begun monitoring people who may have been exposed, including healthcare workers, other patients, caregivers and travel contacts, the minister said.
He said the ministry and other agencies have intensified surveillance and are providing immediate support to the hospital to strengthen infection-prevention measures.
Pate said the government is “doing everything possible” to trace all potential contacts.
The minister directed public and private health facilities nationwide to maintain a high level of suspicion for Ebola symptoms, promptly isolate suspected cases, enforce strict infection-control protocols and report potential cases to authorities.
Nigeria last confronted Ebola in 2014, when it contained an outbreak after a traveler from Liberia brought the virus to Lagos.
Pate sought to reassure the public, saying the country’s experience and public-health systems position it to respond to the current case.
The confirmation comes amid an outbreak that began in the Democratic Republic of Congo and has spread elsewhere in East Africa.
Uganda has reported cases linked to the outbreak, while Kenya confirmed its first case of Ebola Bundibugyo virus disease earlier this month.
NCDC Director-General Jide Idris said as recently as June that Nigeria had no confirmed Ebola cases, although officials said the country was 59% prepared for a potential outbreak.
The NCDC’s toll-free line, 6232, remains available around the clock for information and suspected-case reports, Idris said.
