The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, NCDC, says it is monitoring 53 primary contacts linked to the confirmed Ebola case in the country, with investigations expanding to include people exposed at multiple locations.
The Director-General of the NCDC, Dr Jide Idris, disclosed this on Sunday during a press briefing, saying 44 of the contacts were linked to the health facility where the patient was treated, while nine others were identified outside the facility.
The additional contacts include three members of the patient’s household and individuals who attended to her at an emergency room she visited before arriving at the facility where the infection was confirmed.
Idris said the agency was extending contact-tracing beyond direct contacts to identify others exposed through the initial group.
“As of now, we have 53 primary contacts. Of these, 44 are people from that health facility where the patient was treated,” he said.
The figure is an increase from the 44 contacts initially announced after confirmation of the Ebola case in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, on October 20.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the patient, a woman who recently travelled from Uganda, developed symptoms on October 7 and sought medical attention on October 11 before her infection was confirmed.
The NCDC said investigations were ongoing to establish the full chain of possible exposure and ensure everyone who may have come into contact with the patient is identified and monitored.
“For each person, we are going to ask questions. We have to establish who they have been in contact with. If we can identify those people, they will also be monitored,” Idris said.
He said the patient’s history showed she visited an emergency room before presenting at the facility where Ebola was confirmed, and efforts had begun to trace individuals who attended to her there, including three healthcare providers.
The investigation also covers personnel involved in collecting samples from the patient.
Idris said NCDC was strengthening infection prevention and control measures in health facilities and that its teams routinely assess facilities to identify gaps.
“When our infection prevention and control teams visit a facility, they assess the systems in place and identify areas that need to be corrected,” he said.
He acknowledged the need to improve preparedness and technical capacity at state and local levels, saying effective outbreak management requires trained personnel and functional infection prevention systems.
“Capabilities and competencies at the subnational level are not as high as they should be. We are responsible for building those capabilities. That is why training is one of our most important priorities,” he added.
