(FILES) This file photo taken on June 28, 2014 shows a member of Doctors Without Borders (MSF) putting on protective gear at the isolation ward of the Donka Hospital in Conakry, where people infected with the Ebola virus are being treated. (Photo: CELLOU BINANI / AFP)
Jide Idris: There are no Ebola vaccines in Nigeria at the moment
Fresh outbreak of Ebola disease in Uganda has forced the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to boost surveillance at Nigeria’s entry points
Last week, the Ugandan Ministry of Health confirmed the outbreak of the disease with one death and has now followed up with 44 contacts.
As a result,the NCDC said that while there was no outbreak of the disease in Nigeria, the agency was working to prevent such.
“There are no cases of Ebola virus disease in Nigeria. However, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), in collaboration with relevant Ministries, Departments, Agencies, and Partners through the National Emerging Viral Hemorrhagic Diseases (EVHD) Technical Working Group, continues to monitor disease occurrence and has initiated measures to strengthen our preparedness in the country,” the agency’s Director-General Jide Idris stated in an advisory on Sunday.
“These include the update of our EVD emergency contingency plan, heightened surveillance especially at the points of entry, and optimizing diagnostic capacity for EVD testing in designated laboratories in cities with international airports of entry and the National Reference Laboratory. In addition, all Lassa Fever testing laboratories can be activated to scale up testing if the need arises.”
NCDC boss further disclosed that there were no Ebola vaccines in Nigeria at the moment.
“There are vaccines and therapeutics available for some strains of the Ebola virus. The approved vaccine for the Zaire species (EBV) is not currently available in the country but can be obtained from the WHO Afro and does not protect against the Sudan virus,” he said.
However, the NCDC boss said, “early recognition, isolation of patients, and initiation of supportive treatment, implementing infection and control measures in health facilities and homes, tracing and monitoring of contacts, and safe burial practices, significantly reduce morbidity and the probability of death.”
