Ebola contacts rise to 53 as FG plans state treatment centres

The number of people being monitored over Nigeria's confirmed Ebola case has risen to 53, up from the 44 announced earlier, according to a situation report seen by Punch.

Most of them, 44, are linked to the health facility where the patient was treated. The other nine are household members and people who attended to her during an earlier visit to an emergency room.

Health officials are now looking beyond that facility to find out whether anyone else was exposed before the patient was isolated. They are also working out secondary contacts — people who may have been in touch with the 53 already listed.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) said contacts will be followed up daily, and anyone who falls ill will be checked quickly. One contact who felt unwell has tested negative.

What the government is doing

The Federal Government is planning to identify and equip Ebola treatment centres in states that have designated ports of entry, the report said. It is also working out how suspected cases will be moved from where they are found to treatment centres.

At the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, a needs assessment for isolation and treatment has been completed. A similar infection prevention and control assessment is planned for Karu General Hospital in Abuja, to see how many isolation beds it could handle if cases surge.

The national response is being coordinated by the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Muhammad Ali Pate, and an action plan has been finalised.

Genomic sequencing of the confirmed case has also been completed by the NCDC National Reference Laboratory and the African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases.

N100,000 a week for people in isolation

NCDC Director-General Dr Jide Idris said the agency approved an emergency payment of N100,000 per person per week for people in isolation or quarantine.

He explained that some contacts complained about feeding, accommodation and providing for their families while unable to work.

We are providing N100,000 per person per week just to maintain their comfort and feeding, because they were complaining.

Idris said the payment was not in the original plan but became necessary because of the emergency, and it will be reviewed as the response goes on.

He also warned that supporting contacts should not fall to the Federal Capital Territory alone. States, he said, must set aside money and logistics for contact tracing, isolation and surveillance in case similar emergencies happen there.

The NCDC has revised its case definition for Ebola to help health workers spot suspected infections. It urged Nigerians to report unexplained deaths and people with Ebola-like symptoms, especially where there may have been exposure.

Thisday reported that the patient, a 42-year-old woman, was expected to be flown abroad for further treatment early on Monday. That detail has not been confirmed by the NCDC.

What happens next

Daily monitoring of the 53 contacts continues, and the contact list may still grow. The government is also expected to name and equip treatment centres in states with ports of entry, and to share the genomic sequencing report.