ABUJA, Nigeria — The Federal Government has urged Nigerians not to panic over the reported Ebola case in the country, assuring the public that measures are in place to contain the disease and prevent its spread.
The Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Dr Muhammed Ali Pate, gave the assurance on Wednesday after meeting with the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, reports Daily Trust.
Pate’s reassurance followed his earlier confirmation that a woman who recently arrived in Nigeria on an international flight from Uganda had tested positive for Ebola after receiving treatment at a private hospital in Abuja.
The minister said the government was collaborating with Uganda and relevant authorities to manage the case, trace contacts and implement containment measures to prevent further transmission.
He maintained that Nigeria had the public health institutions and technical expertise required to respond effectively to the outbreak, citing the country’s experience in containing Ebola in 2014.
“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.
“Federal government has competent authorities to be able to deal with this. We have done it in 2014, and we have good public health institutions. Nigerians should be reassured,” Pate said.
The minister, however, urged Nigerians to remain vigilant and comply with public health advisories, warning against the spread of misinformation and unverified reports about the disease.
He said the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) had activated its incident management system, with health officials working round the clock to coordinate the response.
Pate added that a government task force was also active and that the authorities would continue to provide updates as more information became available.
“Be vigilant, but not panic, and people should respect public health information from trusted sources, and not spread misinformation and false rumours. We would be truthful to Nigerians with the information that we receive on a daily basis. NCDC has an incident management system.
“They are working 24/7, and the task force is also active. So we have things in place that gives us confidence that Nigeria can weather through this public health crisis, which has taken five months without happening, and we have seen other countries also deal with it,” he said.
The minister cautioned against what he described as a wave of unnecessary fear, stressing that the government was treating the reported case seriously and taking steps to prevent further infections.
He said: “It’s one case. It’s an imported case, and we are containing it. And we will continue to take measures. If the situation changes, we’ll come out and inform Nigerians.”
Ebola is a serious viral disease that can spread through direct contact with the blood or other bodily fluids of an infected person or someone who has died from the disease. Early detection, contact tracing, infection prevention and prompt isolation of suspected cases are important in limiting transmission.
Nigeria recorded an Ebola outbreak in 2014 after an infected traveller arrived in Lagos. Health authorities contained the outbreak through surveillance, contact tracing and coordinated public health interventions.
