NCDC monitors 28 contacts linked to Nigeria’s imported Ebola case

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, NCDC, says 28 people linked to the country’s only confirmed imported Ebola case are still under monitoring, while 34 others have completed the mandatory 21-day follow-up period.

The agency’s Director-General, Jide Idris, disclosed this in a national health security update released on Tuesday, adding that no additional cases of Bundibugyo virus disease had been confirmed as of November 9.

According to Idris, health authorities identified 62 contacts following the confirmation of the imported case and placed them under surveillance.

“Of these, 34 have completed their individual 21-day follow-up, while the remaining 28 are still under monitoring,” he said.

He explained that the response involved the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the Federal Capital Territory Administration, state authorities and development partners.

The measures include contact tracing, investigation of reported alerts, laboratory testing, infection prevention and control, safe clinical care and surveillance at points of entry.

Idris cautioned that being identified as a contact did not mean that an individual had contracted the virus.

“Being a contact does not mean that an individual has contracted the virus,” he said.

He explained that the 21-day monitoring period was designed to help health officials identify possible symptoms early and provide appropriate medical care.

The NCDC had earlier projected that monitoring of all 62 contacts would be completed by November 13, with individual follow-up periods expected to end between October 31 and November 13.

Nigeria confirmed its first imported Ebola case in the Federal Capital Territory in October after a woman who arrived on an international flight from Uganda was diagnosed with the disease.

The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Ali Pate, had said 44 close contacts were initially identified for tracing.

The index patient was reportedly admitted to a private hospital in the FCT, where she received treatment for several days before the disease was confirmed. She was subsequently evacuated to Switzerland for further medical care.

On October 31, the NCDC announced that two suspected Ebola cases had been identified in the North-East, prompting further surveillance and investigations.