President of the Nigeria Infectious Diseases Society, Dr Mahmood Dahlat, has asserted that Nigeria has developed the capacity to respond effectively to any potential Ebola outbreak despite growing concerns over the deadly virus spreading in parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda,
Speaking in an interview with ARISE NEWS on Sunday, Dahlat said the country’s disease surveillance systems, border screening measures and outbreak response structures had significantly improved since the 2014 Ebola outbreak, when Nigeria successfully contained the virus after the Patrick Sawyer case in Lagos.
“So I’m in a position to say confidently that Nigeria is prepared to respond to these kind of threats.”
He explained that preparedness for epidemics such as Ebola, Covid-19 and Lassa fever is built over several years and not within weeks of an outbreak. “Because diseases like Ebola, epidemics, pandemics, COVID-19, Ebola, Lassa, are not situations you prepare for within one, two, three weeks. So the question is whether we have prepared enough for something like this. And the direct answer to this is yes, because there are objective ways of assessing countries’ preparedness for situations like this. There’s a standard joint external evaluation, which we call JEE, developed by the World Health Organisation to assess countries’ capacities for situations like this. And over the years, Nigeria has consistently increased the level of preparedness for this.”
Dahlat said Nigeria’s preparedness level had consistently improved under global health assessment standards developed by the World Health Organisation. “So the question is whether we have prepared enough for something like this. And the direct answer to this is yes, because there are objective ways of assessing countries’ preparedness for situations like this. There’s a standard joint external evaluation, which we call JEE, developed by the World Health Organisation to assess countries’ capacities for situations like this. And over the years, Nigeria has consistently increased the level of preparedness for this.”
He pointed to Nigeria’s handling of the 2014 Ebola outbreak as evidence of the country’s emergency response capability. “And the difference between Nigeria, where that virus was well-controlled in 2014, and other countries, like Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea, is the fact that Nigeria was better prepared, had more capacity to respond to these kind of threats.”
Speaking on the ongoing outbreak in DR Congo, Dahlat warned that no country could completely guarantee Ebola would not spread across borders due to international travel. “So the truth of the matter is, nobody can say they have measures that will ensure that this outbreak does not spread from Congo.”
He added that people infected with Ebola may still pass through checks undetected if they are in the incubation stage and not yet showing symptoms. “The solution is to ensure that you have measures in your borders wherein people coming in are screened, and you increase the likelihood of detecting anybody that has such a disease.”
“However, despite all the measures you put, once you are going to allow travels from these countries, from DR Congo, Uganda, for instance, where these outbreaks are, or other parts of the world, there is that chance that someone incubating the disease may pass through this border check.”
Dahlat explained that Nigeria’s surveillance system was designed to quickly identify and isolate suspected cases before they spread. “But what is important is to ensure that our surveillance system is sensitive enough to pick up people that started manifesting symptoms early, and we isolate them and provide them the care they need,” Daalat stated.
The infectious disease specialist also addressed concerns over the current Ebola strain circulating in Congo, saying there was presently no vaccine or approved treatment for the variant. “So the current strain is true that we don’t have a vaccine and we don’t have treatment for it.”
He emphasised that supportive care remained the primary treatment approach for infected patients, including hydration, pain management and organ support where necessary.
“Supportive care means to ensure that all the systems in the body are working optimally, the person is not dehydrated, the person does not have overwhelming symptoms that could cause a lot of discomfort so we give them liberal analgesia to ensure that they don’t have pain, you control the fever as much as possible, and then monitor other parameters like the kidney function.”
Dahlat noted that studies suggested the strain had a lower fatality rate compared to previous Ebola variants.
“Interestingly, even though we don’t have a vaccine and treatment for this particular strain, studies have shown that it has less fatality, It has a fatality rate of 30% against the other strains that have fatality rates as high as 50%.”
On concerns that the Ebola outbreak in Congo could affect the country’s participation in the World Cup, Dahlat said it was “highly unlikely” that the Congolese team would be banned if proper screening measures were followed.
“I think what makes sense is to ensure that we screen everybody that is participating from Congo properly and ensure that we are okay, we are satisfied with their condition,” he said.
Dahlat also warned Nigerians against relying on misinformation circulating on social media during disease outbreaks, describing false information as one of the biggest dangers during public health emergencies. “One of the biggest challenges managing situations like Ebola, massive Lassa fever outbreaks is what we call the infodemic.”
“We are all witness to what happened during the 2014 Ebola outbreak where a casual statement by a Nigerian leads people to go and start taking baths with salt and water, drinking salt and water.”
He urged Nigerians to strictly follow guidance from health authorities, particularly the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control. “I think the most important message I could pass to Nigerians is to adhere to information from credible sources.”
“NCDC over the years has proven itself in terms of providing the right guidance, the right information to the public, and we should also defer to the NCDC and other constituted authorities during these outbreaks.”
Erizia Rubyjeana
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