Nigeria’s index case of the Ebola virus disease is expected to be evacuated abroad for further medical treatment early Monday (today).
Arrangements have been made to fly the 42-year-old woman out of the country, with a medical evacuation aircraft already at the airport ready to leave.
The fresh development came as the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) said two suspected Ebola cases from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and Rivers State have tested negative, while 53 primary contacts of the confirmed index case have been identified and are being monitored.
The agency also said that based on complaints by the contacts in quarantine, the federal government was considering the payment of N100,000 per week.
However, NCDC said that the welfare arrangement was in the interim, as states were expected to take over maintenance of the contacts cases in their domain subsequently.
“The medivac plane is already at the airport waiting to evacuate her,” the source said, adding that the federal government was expected to announce the development after the patient had departed Nigeria.
The proposed evacuation is coming amid heightened surveillance and contact-tracing efforts by Nigerian health authorities to prevent further transmission of the disease.
Earlier, the Director General of the NCDC, Dr. Jide Idris, spoke at a press briefing in Abuja to provide an update on Nigeria’s Ebola disease response.
Idris said the search for other secondary contacts was ongoing, assuring Nigerians that the federal government through Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, NCDC, FCT health authorities and partners was fully committed to containing the outbreak.
“As previously announced, Nigeria has confirmed one case of Ebola disease caused by the Bundibugyo virus. The patient is currently receiving medical care under isolation, with infection prevention and control measures in place. Clinical teams continue to monitor and manage patient’s condition,” he said.
According to him, the 53 primary contacts comprise 44 personnel from the hospital where the index case is receiving treatment, while nine additional contacts from the index, three from Julius Berger office where she visited before coming down with symptoms, and three health workers who attended to index case.
He said samples collected from the husband of the index case tested negative, adding that two suspected cases in FCT and Rivers also tested negative, but will have more follow up.
Responding to a question about the true identity of the index case, the DG said she is from Uganda and married to a Swiss national, and the government is carrying out further investigations to establish her exact travel details. He said Nigerian officials will meet with Ugandan officials online to exchange information.
Idris explained that the case was detected through event-based surveillance after vigilant healthcare workers recognised clinical features that raised concern.
He said the response was being implemented through a structured Incident Management System coordinated by the Emergency Operations Centre under the leadership of the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate, and Presidential Task Force on EVD.
Idris listed critical components as identifying and monitoring contacts for 21 days, ensuring safe clinical care, strengthening infection prevention and control across facilities, boosting surveillance and laboratory capacity, and community engagement.
The DG said the centre is being assisted by the Department of State Services (DSS) in tracking contacts, has expanded case definition for community surveillance, and is boosting genomic capabilities of 12 laboratories to test for Ebola.
He said the government has designated the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital as a special isolation centre and has fumigated premises of the index case.
On the welfare of contacts, Idris said the federal government was considering the payment of N100,000 per week for feeding and upkeep of each quarantined contact, while states are expected to take responsibility for contacts in their domain.
He appealed to Nigerians to cooperate with contact tracing teams, provide accurate information and adhere to public health advisories.
“An identified contact does not mean you have Ebola. It means public health teams need to assess and monitor your health,” he said, urging hand hygiene, avoiding contact with blood or body fluids of suspected cases and prompt reporting.
Idris commended healthcare workers whose vigilance led to detection and called on all public and private facilities to strengthen screening, triage and availability of personal protective equipment.
He recalled leading Lagos State response in 2014 as Commissioner for Health, saying experience taught lessons on leadership, coordination and public trust which are being deployed.
He warned against misinformation and stigmatisation, urging reliance on verified information from NCDC and Federal Ministry of Health.
“The government has worked hard to strengthen the surveillance system and boost capacities of disease testing laboratories. Success depends on the whole of society,” he said, noting that the patient is improving.
Meanwhile, to find solutions to major healthcare challenges facing West Africa, issues such as brain drain, infrastructure deficit and Ebola threat will be among key issues for deliberation as West African College of Physicians (WACP) marks 50 years anniversary with a summit in Abuja beginning on Monday.
The body had earlier visited President Bola Tinubu at State House Presidential Villa in Abuja where the president urged them to help find solutions to some of the daunting healthcare challenges facing the region.
Speaking at a press conference on Saturday, President of WACP, Dr. Mamadou Mourtalla, said the College will appraise developments in the health sector as it relates to new scientific discoveries, manpower training, infrastructure and infectious disease control.
“We’ll be discussing various perspectives, how to deal with the pandemic, an epidemic coming up in Africa which puts a lot of stress on our health system. We have over 70 scientific papers based on this theme. At the end, we usually issue a communique,” Mourtalla said.
He said implementation of resolutions is key, adding that the President of ECOWAS Commission, Director General of West African Health Organisation and President Tinubu who promised to send the Minister of Health will be present to make recommendations to leaders.
Assistant Secretary General of WACP, Dr. Habibu Galadanci, said the conference has scheduled deliberations on several key areas including brain drain, infrastructure deficit, rise in non-communicable diseases like kidney disease, hypertension, and infectious disease epidemics including current spread of Ebola.
“The scientific content will touch on several aspects of medicine, including disease conditions, health policies and contemporary medical issues,” he said.
On brain drain, he said the conference has a whole session that will look at push and pull dynamics.
“There are pull dynamics, push dynamics, and we are going to look at that and find solutions. When we saw President Tinubu, that was one main thing he charged us with, that we should discuss Japa syndrome and find solutions,” Galadanci said.
He said the conference will also look at use of artificial intelligence in medicine and ethical concerns in managing patients, maternal and reproductive health, access to safe healthcare for women and children, mental health priorities and development of balanced scorecards for improving performance of public sector hospitals.
Galadanci said the conference will be a landmark event that offers opportunity for stakeholders to pause and look at where College has come from in 50 years, achievements and pending issues.
“We still have a lot of problems, but we have come a long way, at least we can train our doctors. We have specialists, so many doctors that they poach them from outside because of how good we are,” he said.
Other areas include kidney disease epidemic, dementia which is creeping into society as population ages, and mental health often stigmatised and downplayed.
As part of its corporate social responsibility, members of College organised a medical outreach programme in Waru community, a suburb in Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja on Saturday, attracting a large crowd of men, women and children who benefited from free healthcare services.
The week-long summit in Abuja is expected to bring over 1,300 experts from across West Africa to propose solutions for the next 50 years.
Emmanuel Addeh and Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja
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