Anietie Udobit, Abuja
The Federal Government has issued a warning to Nigerians to avoid traveling to Uganda and some other countries with confirmed cases of Ebola virus disease.
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Confirming the outbreak of the disease in Uganda, the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said the country has initiated measures to strengthen the country’s preparedness for the virus.
A case of Ebola virus disease caused by the Sudan species was confirmed on January 30 in Wakiso, Mukono, and Mbale city in Mbale district of Uganda.
The country’s health ministry said one case has been confirmed with one death, while forty-four contacts are being traced.
In a public health advisory issued by Jide Idris, the Executive Director of NCDC, Nigerians need to restrict their travel and trade to Uganda.
Idris said the Federal Government has heightened its surveillance, especially at every point of entry into the country.
He added that the diagnostic capacity for EVD testing in designated laboratories in cities with international airports is also being optimized.
The advisory read in parts, “There are no cases of Ebola virus disease in Nigeria.
“However, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), in collaboration with relevant Ministries, Departments, Agencies, and Partners through the National Emerging Viral Hemorrhagic Diseases (EVHD) Technical Working Group, continues these, including the update of our EVD emergency contingency plan, heightened surveillance, especially at the points of entry, and optimizing diagnostic capacity for EVD testing in designated laboratories in cities with international airports of entry and the National Reference Laboratory,” the advisory stated.