Zamfara State Commissioner for Health Nafisa Muhammad Maradun said the state began screening air passengers at Gusau International Airport and deployed medical personnel to major motor parks for Ebola screening.
Maradun said the measures began Friday, Oct. 23, after a traveler returning from Saudi Arabia was flagged with a high temperature. She said the checks were intended to detect infections early and prevent the virus from reaching Zamfara. The reports did not say the traveler had been diagnosed with Ebola.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) listed one confirmed Bundibugyo Ebola case in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), in Abuja, in its Oct. 24 situation report. It recorded 53 contacts and no deaths among confirmed cases, and said the patient had improved while in isolation. A suspected case reported in Rivers State on Oct. 23 tested negative.
The NCDC said contact follow-up would continue for 21 days from each person’s last possible exposure. The agency also said clinicians from Nigeria’s previous Ebola response were contributing expertise.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reported 9,704 confirmed cases and 4,687 deaths in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as of Oct. 20, across 66 health zones in eight provinces. WHO also reported imported cases in Kenya and Nigeria.
Africa CDC scheduled a virtual meeting of African health ministers for Wednesday, Oct. 28, to discuss the regional response.
