The Zamfara State Government has deployed medical personnel to Gusau International Airport and major motor parks across the state to screen passengers and strengthen surveillance against the spread of Ebola Virus Disease.
Zamfara State Commissioner for Health, Nafisa Maradun, disclosed this while leading a medical team to flag off the screening of passengers arriving at the Gusau International Airport.
Nafisa said medical personnel had also been deployed to major motor parks across the state to ensure early detection and prompt reporting of suspected cases.
She noted that the screening exercise had identified a passenger with an elevated body temperature who arrived in Gusau after returning from Saudi Arabia.
The state government has also directed public and private health facilities, disease surveillance officers and local government health authorities to strengthen preparedness and response measures against the disease.
The Director of Public Health Services, Yusuf Abubakar, issued the directive on behalf of the Commissioner for Health during a meeting with health stakeholders and representatives of the Nigeria Customs Service, Nigeria Immigration Service and the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW).
Abubakar said the Customs and Immigration Services would support surveillance at border entry points, while the NURTW would assist in monitoring passengers at motor parks and alerting relevant authorities to suspected cases.
He directed disease surveillance officers across the state’s 14 local government areas to notify health facilities, intensify routine and event-based surveillance, and ensure the prompt reporting of suspected cases.
The Director also disclosed that the ministry had commenced temperature screening, sensitisation of frontline health workers, identification of passengers of interest and activation of response mechanisms at different levels.
He further directed health facilities to strengthen screening and triage procedures, infection prevention and control, early identification of suspected cases, immediate notification and safe referral.
The State Epidemiology Unit and relevant public health authorities are also expected to assess the state’s preparedness, including isolation facilities, referral arrangements, trained personnel, personal protective equipment, laboratory procedures and emergency logistics.
The ministry called on relevant stakeholders to work together to strengthen surveillance and ensure strict compliance with public health guidelines to protect residents of Zamfara State and prevent the spread of the disease.
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