Health
Ebola: FG Places Health Facilities on High Alert After Abuja Case
The federal government says that one case of Ebola Virus Disease has been discovered in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
In a press statement, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, disclosed that the patient is a woman who arrived in the country on a flight from Uganda International Airport.
She was taken to a private hospital in the FCT, where laboratory tests confirmed that she was positive for the infection.
The patient is currently in isolation and receiving medical care, while the Federal Ministry of Health, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the FCT Health Services Secretariat have intensified surveillance and supported the hospital in strengthening infection prevention and control measures.
The government said public health teams are monitoring close contacts, including healthcare workers, caregivers and travel contacts.
It has also directed all public and private health facilities nationwide to remain on high alert and promptly isolate and report suspected cases.
In view of this development, everyone in the country has been advised to practise hand hygiene, avoid contact with the body fluids of suspected cases and watch for symptoms such as fever, severe weakness, headache, vomiting and diarrhoea.
Pate gave the assurance that Nigerians would use the experience obtained from fighting the 2014 outbreak to manage the current case.