The federal government has identified 21 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as areas at high or moderate risk of Ebola importation following renewed outbreaks in parts of Africa.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) announced on Thursday that states across the country have been placed on heightened alert amid fears of cross-border transmission.
According to Premium Times, NCDC Director-General, Jide Idris, confirmed that Nigeria currently has no confirmed Ebola case linked to the ongoing outbreak in East and Central Africa. However, he warned that increasing regional transmission has significantly elevated the country’s importation risk.
“The risk of Ebola importation into Nigeria is high because of international travel, regional population movement, porous borders, and extensive trade networks,” he said.
According to the NCDC, the following states were classified as high-risk due to international airports, porous land borders, and active travel and trade routes:
Lagos, FCT, Rivers, Kano, Enugu, Borno, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Taraba and Adamawa.
The NCDC also listed the following states as moderate-risk, requiring sustained surveillance and preparedness measures: Ogun, Nasarawa, Kaduna, Plateau, Kogi, Niger, Jigawa, Katsina, Bauchi, Ebonyi, Abia, and Bayelsa.
Mr Idris explained that the classification followed a fresh dynamic risk assessment conducted in response to rising Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda.
Health authorities in both countries have reported 1,077 suspected cases and 247 deaths, with persons aged 14 to 45 years accounting for most infections.
The outbreak involves the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, for which there are no approved vaccines or targeted treatments. This makes rapid detection, isolation, contact tracing, infection prevention, and supportive care critical to containing infections.
