Ebola in Nigeria: 44 contacts of patient identified
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Punch
Following confirmation of an Ebola case in Abuja, Nigerian health authorities have identified 44 people who may have been in contact with the patient, who recently arrived from Uganda. Teams are continuing contact tracing and monitoring, while Health and Social Welfare Minister Ali Pate urges the public to practise hand hygiene and avoid contact with bodily fluids, according to the federal government.
Nigerian authorities have identified 44 people who had contact with the Ebola patient in Abuja, including healthcare workers, patients, companions and people connected with her journey. Health and Social Welfare Minister Ali Pate announced on Tuesday that contact tracing had begun after laboratory confirmation of the first reported case in the Federal Capital Territory.
The patient, a woman who recently arrived from Uganda on an international flight, had been admitted to a private hospital in Abuja and treated for several days before the infection was confirmed. She is now in isolation and receiving care, the government said. Public health teams are searching for others who may have been exposed and monitoring the contacts already identified.
The ministry has asked public and private health facilities to maintain heightened vigilance, promptly isolate suspected cases and report infections to the authorities. Ali Pate urged people contacted by the teams, including passengers who may have travelled with the patient, to cooperate. The authorities also recommend regular handwashing and avoiding contact with the blood or other bodily fluids of anyone who may be infected.
The World Health Organization says the virus is transmitted through direct contact with the bodily fluids of a sick or deceased person, as well as through contaminated objects. Infected people are not contagious before symptoms appear, but can transmit the virus while it is present in their blood. Nigeria confirmed an Ebola case in Abuja on 20 October, before the number of identified contacts was specified.
Summary produced with the help of artificial intelligence tools, under AFREEQUE’s editorial responsibility.
