28 People Still Under Ebola Surveillance – NCDC

Nigeria is monitoring 28 people linked to its only confirmed imported Ebola case, while 34 others have completed the required 21-day follow-up period, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention said.

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

A total of 62 contacts have been identified and placed under monitoring following the confirmation of the imported case, he said.

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

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

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

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

The 21-day monitoring period was intended to help health officials detect possible symptoms early and provide appropriate medical care.

He also cautioned against confusing the monitoring period for individual contacts with the total number of days since the index case was confirmed.

Earlier in November, the NCDC projected that follow-up of all 62 contacts would be completed by Nov. 13. It said the expected completion dates ranged from Oct. 31 to Nov. 13.

The National Government announced the confirmation of an Ebola case in the Federal Capital Territory in October.

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

He said the index patient, a woman who had arrived in Nigeria on an international flight from Uganda, was admitted to a private hospital in the FCT, where she received treatment for several days before the disease was confirmed.

The patient was later evacuated to Switzerland for further medical care.

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