Following Nigeria’s confirmation of a case of imported Ebola virus disease, the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate has indicated there is no need to cancel political campaigns, conferences or other big public gatherings immediately.
Pate, however, warned that if the outbreak intensified, the government would review the situation and adopt suitable limits, noting that choices would be based entirely on scientific data and public health reasons.
The Minister said this today in Abuja during a press conference on the government’s response to the Ebola case, assuring Nigerians that the patient is on treatment and is showing positive indications of recovery.
Fortunately that person has been dealt with and is – in fact – recovering. “I spoke to the clinicians today and I know that there’s great improvement in the laboratory results and there’s a possibility that she would recover from this,” he said.
He also said the government was not going to take anything for granted, adding that steps were underway to stop the sickness from spreading to communities.
“We just have to keep praying and working hard that she makes it through,” added Pate.
The minister said the patient was asymptomatic when she arrived in Nigeria but developed symptoms few days later and public health authorities commenced contact tracing after the illness was verified.
Contacts discovered through the patient’s hospital attendance, home interactions and visit to a private clinic had been analysed and classed according to their exposure levels, he said.
“The high-risk contacts have been placed in full quarantine in a facility. “The others have been isolated and we are ensuring that the isolation is enforced consistent with public health expert guidelines,” he said.
“The Nigeria Center for Disease Control and Prevention has activated the incident management system and is leading the day-to-day national response with the Federal Capital Territory authorities,” Pate said.
He said the federal government has briefed the Presidential Task Force, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum and the National Economic Council on the development and also briefed state governments.
The minister said the president had granted more resources to the NCDC to bolster the response, while government was mobilising more domestic resources to boost preparedness and containment measures.
He said the government was working with the World Health Organization, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other technical partners to address the situation.
Pate also stated arrangements were being made to do more genome sequencing of the virus for better knowledge of the strain found.
He added Prof. Christian Happi, a leading genomes expert at Redeemer’s University, Ede, had been asked to supplement the laboratory and surveillance work of the NCDC.
“The case was diagnosed, confirmed and reported to WHO within 24 hours of alert by the public health authorities,” the minister said, adding that Nigeria has the technical capacity to detect and respond to the infection.
“We want to reassure Nigerians that the capacity of the public health is there. “We were able to diagnose this from when the public health authorities were informed, within 24 hours, and we informed the WHO,” he said.
Pate also asked Nigerians to be attentive and comply with public health guidelines including regular handwashing and avoidance of unwanted contact with body fluids of other persons.
Ebola is not an airborne disease but is spread through contact with infected bodily fluids and he urged people to isolate themselves and immediately alert public health officials if they develop symptoms such as fever, headaches and muscle aches, particularly if they have relevant travel histories.
“We are assuring Nigerians that we are able to cope with it. “But for that we need the cooperation of Nigerians to follow the advice of experts,” he remarked.
The minister also appealed to the contacts of the confirmed case to follow quarantine and isolation rules since failure to do so could expose others to risk of infection.
“Hospitals including federal health facilities have been asked to prepare isolation beds and strengthen infection prevention and control measures particularly for frontline health workers,” he said.
Pate also appealed to private hospitals and practitioners to swiftly inform public health authorities of suspicious cases, highlighting the role of private facilities in detecting and controlling outbreaks of infectious diseases.
When asked if political activities and public events may be restricted, the minister said: “We will not take decisions of that nature without evidence that they are needed.
“There is no indication at this time that we would need to change course on large gatherings that have been planned,” he said.
“But if anything changes, we will make a determination. We will consult broadly with the right experts and make that determination.”
He also warned political leaders against making the outbreak a partisan issue, saying public health was a unifying issue that went beyond political, religious and ethnic boundaries.
“There is one issue that will bring Nigerians together and that is health, because health has no political party, has no citizenship, has no nationality, has no tribe, no religion. “It’s a great unifier,” he remarked.
Pate encouraged media to report based on verifiable facts from health authorities and not to perpetuate rumours and misinformation, adding that public distrust might impede efforts to manage the epidemic.
The individual had tested positive on three occasions, he added, in response to fears some Nigerians doubted the pandemic existed.
“The reality is, we’ve got a case. “It has been tested three times and the tests are positive three times,” he stated.
He called on Nigerians to rely on official sources and qualified health professionals, saying that disinformation could serve to dissuade people from taking action on public health initiatives.
The other is not to believe the experts, and that is a tragedy. “It’s a real tragedy,” added the minister.
He gave the example of Nigeria’s experience with resistance to polio vaccine, which he said illustrated how disinformation may sabotage public health programs and leave people vulnerable to preventable injury.
The government was also beefing up surveillance at the country’s points of entry, including making sure that thermal imaging equipment was working and that passenger risk assessments were consistent with international health regulations, Pate said.
“The Federal Government will continue to give regular updates as investigations continue and the NCDC will continue its daily briefings as the ministry continues to monitor the situation,” he added.
“We don’t want it to go beyond it and there is no need to panic but we have to be vigilant,” he said.
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