Ebola: Ekiti intensifies surveillance, stocks emergency supplies after FCT case

The Ekiti State Government has strengthened disease surveillance and emergency preparedness following the confirmation of an Ebola virus disease case in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), urging residents to remain calm and observe preventive measures.

In an advisory issued in Ado-Ekiti on Tuesday, the state government said the Federal Government confirmed the case on October 20 involving a woman who recently arrived in Nigeria from Uganda and was admitted to a private hospital in the FCT, where she received treatment before the diagnosis was confirmed.

It said the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) had commenced contact tracing, with 44 close contacts identified, while public health teams were monitoring people who might have been exposed to the virus.

Outlining its preparedness measures, the government said it had intensified public awareness campaigns, trained laboratory personnel and surveillance teams, inaugurated an Ebola Virus Disease Technical Working Group, and strengthened infection prevention and control measures in health facilities.

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It added that healthcare workers had received training in case management, while simulation exercises had been conducted at the treatment centre at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido-Ekiti.

The government also disclosed that personal protective equipment, including gloves, face masks, and other laboratory consumables, had been procured and stockpiled.

Residents were advised to maintain regular hand hygiene, avoid contact with the blood and body fluids of suspected cases, and promptly report symptoms such as fever, severe weakness, headache, vomiting, and diarrhoea, particularly among people who had travelled to Ebola-affected areas.

The advisory urged anyone who suspected exposure to report immediately, even in the absence of symptoms. Those who developed symptoms were advised to avoid close contact with others and contact public health authorities for guidance before visiting a healthcare facility.

The government explained that Ebola spreads through direct contact with the blood or body fluids of an infected person who is showing symptoms, or someone who has died from the disease. Transmission can also occur through contaminated materials.

It added that infected people could not transmit the virus before symptoms appeared.

Reassuring residents, the government said Nigeria’s successful containment of Ebola in 2014 demonstrated the country’s capacity to respond to the disease. However, it stressed that early detection, prompt reporting and public cooperation remained essential to preventing further transmission.

The government reaffirmed Governor Biodun Oyebanji’s administration’s commitment to protecting healthcare workers, patients and the general public, urging residents to avoid spreading rumours or stigmatising suspected cases and to rely on verified information from official health authorities.