Nigeria Tracks 53 Ebola Contacts After Evacuation

Nigeria is tracking 53 people linked to its first confirmed Bundibugyo strain Ebola case, with health authorities using quarantine, calls and temperature checks to monitor those still in the country. The patient was medically evacuated to Switzerland on October 26; the people who remain under watch are now central to the state’s effort to contain the outbreak.

Who Is Being Monitored

NCDC Director-General Dr. Jide Idris said the agency identified an e-hailing driver who drove the index patient, bringing the number of primary contacts to 54. The patient had left Nigeria, leaving 53 contacts in the country. About 40-something were quarantined in Abuja, while six people whose risks appeared low were self-quarantining at home. Health authorities checked on them by phone and took their temperatures in the morning and evening.

Three people were tested again on October 27, and all three tested negative, Idris said. The agency was also working to identify secondary contacts, whose number wasn’t yet known. The monitoring apparatus reaches beyond a single test: anyone who develops symptoms will be tested and followed for between two and 21 days, the incubation period, Idris said. Contacts are then followed for 21 days again; after another negative test, they can be released.

“We are not out of the woods yet until we are sure that we have all the contacts, and they have been followed up,” Idris said. Nigeria had no active positive case, he added, but contact tracing continued. Idris advised anyone who felt ill, or knew someone falling ill, to call the toll-free NCDC hotline at 6232, staffed 24 hours, or go to a public health centre, healthcare centre or public health office.

The State’s Containment Plan

Nigeria confirmed its first case of the Bundibugyo strain in the Federal Capital Territory on October 20. Authorities identified the patient as a woman who had recently travelled to Uganda and returned to Nigeria with symptoms on October 7. Her symptoms progressed four days later before tests confirmed the infection. Ugandan authorities denied reports of an Ebola outbreak in the country.

Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare Muhammad Pate said Nigeria could declare the outbreak over as early as December 7 if no further confirmed or probable cases emerge. That date remains provisional: the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention and WHO must validate the 42-day countdown, and any further case would restart it.

After the patient’s evacuation, Pate said immediate priorities included monitoring identified contacts, investigating alerts and strengthening readiness at health facilities. He said teams were working with the Federal Capital Territory Administration, state health authorities and partners to prevent community transmission. Pate asked Nigerians to remain calm, cooperate with contact-tracing teams and follow updates from NCDC and the Federal Ministry of Health. The response relies on public cooperation with institutions directing the surveillance and setting its terms; the article reports no community-run response or mutual-aid effort.

Evacuation and Official Reassurances

Pate said the patient and her husband were flown to Switzerland on October 26. The woman was stable, conscious and clinically improved, but Pate said that didn’t mean she was no longer infectious; strict protocols were in place before the evacuation. PUNCH reported that both were Swiss citizens. The patient arrived safely and was receiving care at Geneva University Hospitals, while her spouse was in isolation at University Hospital Zurich.

Idris said he didn’t view the evacuation as a vote of no confidence in Nigeria’s health system. He said competent personnel were available, including Nigerians who had participated in treating Ebola cases in 2014, and that infectious disease experts were on hand. He said Switzerland’s government, not Nigeria, provided the air ambulance, following a diplomatic request. Federal Councillor Elisabeth Baume-Schneider conveyed Switzerland’s appreciation for Nigerian health professionals and cooperation with WHO, Pate said. WHO Regional Director for Africa Prof. Mohamed Janabi said Nigeria had no Ebola cases following the evacuation. The contacts, meanwhile, remain under follow-up.