The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, has assured Nigerians that the nation has the capacity to contain the most recent Ebola outbreak, citing its profitable response to the illness in 2014.
Mr Pate gave the peace of mind on Wednesday after a gathering with the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, urging Nigerians to stay vigilant however not panic.
“Nigerians should be reassured. We must be vigilant, but not panic, and people should respect public health information from trusted sources, and not spread misinformation and false rumours,” he stated.
Nigeria confirmed one Ebola case within the Federal Capital Territory on Tuesday. The affected person, a girl who lately arrived in Nigeria on a world flight from Uganda, is receiving remedy in isolation at a personal hospital in Abuja.
Health authorities have recognized 44 shut contacts and commenced contact tracing. The contacts embrace healthcare employees, sufferers, caregivers and journey contacts.
Drawing on 2014 expertise
Mr Pate stated the federal government had activated containment measures to forestall the virus from spreading into the broader inhabitants.
“What is important is that we have found this one case. We are doing contact tracing, and we are putting containment measures to ensure that it doesn’t go into our population,” he stated.
He stated Nigeria’s earlier expertise with Ebola was one motive for confidence within the present response.
“We have done it in 2014, and we have good public health institutions,” Mr Pate stated.
Nigeria’s 2014 outbreak started after Patrick Sawyer, a Liberian-American, arrived in Lagos in July and was later recognized with Ebola.
The nation recorded 20 circumstances, together with 19 laboratory-confirmed circumstances and one possible case, with eight deaths. The Federal Ministry of Health, Lagos State authorities and worldwide companions activated an Ebola Incident Management Centre on 23 July 2014, three days after Mr Sawyer arrived, to coordinate the response.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared Nigeria freed from Ebola transmission on 20 October 2014 after the nation accomplished 42 days with no new case.
Odianosen Ehiakhamen, Incident Manager for the National Ebola Disease Response and an assistant director on the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), stated the company had recognized officers who participated within the 2014 response and are nonetheless within the nation to function focal individuals.
“Because Nigeria had experienced this same situation in 2014, it was important for us to identify colleagues who responded and were still in the country because they are actually going to be our focal persons,” Mr Ehiakhamen stated on Arise TV’s NewsNight on Tuesday.
Prepared earlier than affirmation
Mr Ehiakhamen stated the NCDC had additionally strengthened its preparedness months earlier than the Abuja case was confirmed.
He stated a threat evaluation carried out in May initially positioned the danger at a reasonable stage, however the company subsequently moved to a excessive stage of preparedness and activated an alert.
The NCDC can be monitoring the pace of the response, together with the time taken from receiving an alert to reaching a well being facility, gathering samples and finishing laboratory testing.
Mr Pate stated the NCDC incident administration system and the nationwide process pressure have been working across the clock.
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“They are working 24/7, and the task force is also active. So we have things in place that gives us confidence that Nigeria can weather through this public health crisis,” he stated.
Funding considerations
The minister’s reassurance got here as lawmakers raised considerations in regards to the sources accessible to Nigeria’s well being companies to reply to the outbreak.
On Wednesday, the House of Representatives urged the federal authorities to launch excellent funds appropriated for well being companies, citing the necessity to strengthen surveillance, contact tracing and emergency response.
Lawmakers additionally raised considerations about an infection prevention provides, health-worker preparedness and emergency response capacity. The Senate individually known as for the fast launch of emergency funds from the Service Wide Vote and urged stronger well being screening at airports and different entry factors.
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