Nine new Ebola contacts isolated in Nigeria, bringing total to 53
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Dailytrust
Nigeria is now monitoring 53 contacts linked to its confirmed Ebola case, including nine identified outside the facility where the patient was treated. Tracing has expanded to relatives and people encountered in an emergency department, according to NCDC Director-General Jide Idris.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) is now monitoring 53 primary contacts linked to the confirmed Ebola case in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), nine more than the figure initially announced. Forty-four people were exposed at the health facility where the patient was treated and nine others were identified elsewhere, NCDC Director-General Jide Idris said on Sunday during a press briefing reported by Dailytrust.
The nine new contacts include three members of the patient’s household and people who treated her in an emergency department she visited before being admitted to the facility where the infection was confirmed. They include three healthcare workers, according to Jide Idris. Investigators are questioning each contact to identify any people who may have been exposed through them and place them under monitoring in turn.
The increase follows the confirmation of an isolated Ebola case in a female traveller, announced on 23 October. Nigeria subsequently identified two suspected cases and 53 contacts, according to an update published on 25 October.
