Ebola scare: Abuja patient showing signs of recovery, no community spread yet – Nigerian govt

The Federal Government has said that the Ebola patient in Abuja is responding well to treatment and showing signs of recovery.

The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Ali Pate, disclosed this on Thursday while briefing journalists on the national response in Abuja.

DAILY POST reports that the patient is a woman who recently returned from Uganda and was admitted to a private hospital in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, where she received treatment for several days before laboratory confirmation of Ebola virus disease.

Recall that the Federal Government on Tuesday confirmed one imported case of Ebola in the FCT and said 44 contacts had been identified for monitoring, including healthcare workers, patients, caregivers and travel contacts.

Pate said the woman is currently in isolation and receiving medical care, while contact tracing, quarantine of high-risk contacts and surveillance have been intensified to prevent further spread.

“I spoke with the clinicians today, and I understand that the laboratory results show significant improvement. There is a possibility that she will recover fully. However, we cannot take anything for granted.

“We currently have one confirmed case, and our priority is to contain it and prevent transmission into communities or a wider outbreak. We are working very hard to ensure that this does not happen,” the minister said.

He explained that the case was imported based on the patient’s travel history, noting that she was asymptomatic when she arrived in Nigeria but developed symptoms a few days later.

The minister said there was no evidence yet of community transmission and urged Nigerians to remain calm, observe preventive measures and report suspected cases immediately.