The Federal Government is planning to identify and equip Ebola treatment centres in states with designated international ports of entry as Nigeria steps up efforts to prevent the spread of the disease.
The move comes as the number of people identified as contacts of the country’s confirmed Ebola patient has risen to 53, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.
An Ebola situation report dated Oct. 24 said authorities were assessing isolation facilities and strengthening surveillance, laboratory testing and infection prevention measures.
The University of Abuja Teaching Hospital has undergone a needs assessment and preparations to serve as an isolation and treatment centre.
An infection prevention and control assessment is also planned for Karu General Hospital in Abuja.
The report listed the “identification and optimisation of treatment centres in states with designated POEs” as a priority, referring to designated ports of entry.
It added that referral arrangements would be strengthened to ensure suspected patients could be moved promptly from the point of detection to treatment centres.
NCDC Director-General Jide Idris said 44 of the 53 contacts were linked to the health facility where the patient was treated.
The remaining nine included household members, her husband, her driver, her chef and people who attended to her at another facility.
“As of now, we have 53 primary contacts,” Idris said.
He said health officials were also working to identify secondary contacts and monitor those who might have been exposed.
The NCDC said none of the identified contacts had tested positive as of its latest report, while a suspected case in Rivers State tested negative.
The government has urged health facilities to maintain vigilance, follow infection prevention procedures and promptly report suspected cases as surveillance and contact tracing continue nationwide.
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