Nigeria has been placed on high alert over the possible importation of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), following ongoing outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has said.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the Director-General of the NCDC, Jide Idris, disclosed that the agency’s latest risk assessment classified the threat of Ebola entering the country as “high.”
According to the statement, the assessment was based on continued transmission of the virus in the DRC and Uganda, increased international travel and population movement, uncertainty surrounding the scale of the outbreaks, and the likelihood of delayed detection due to symptoms that resemble common illnesses such as malaria and Lassa fever.
The NCDC noted that several Nigerian states have already been identified as vulnerable because of their closeness to land borders, major transportation routes, and international entry points.
The agency added that response measures are currently underway in the affected countries, including surveillance, contact tracing, laboratory testing, infection prevention and control, as well as public awareness campaigns aimed at containing the spread of the disease.