Nigeria’s confirmed Ebola patient has been evacuated from Abuja in a special medical operation involving a medical evacuation aircraft at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.
The patient, a woman identified as the wife of a Swiss diplomat in Nigeria, was reportedly set for evacuation on Monday morning after a convoy of ambulances and diplomatic vehicles arrived at the airport’s private aviation section.
Pictures showed the convoy arriving from Abuja city centre. The three-vehicle convoy, which included a vehicle belonging to an international agency, proceeded to the private jet section of the airport.
Airport officials cordoned off the private wing ahead of the operation.
A source told newsmen that the Federal Government would announce the evacuation only after the aircraft had taken off and left Nigerian airspace, citing the special nature of the operation.
The development comes amid intensified efforts by Nigerian health authorities to contain the Ebola outbreak following the confirmation of an imported case in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on October 20.
Last week, Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Ali Pate, announced that laboratory tests had confirmed Ebola virus infection in a woman who arrived in Nigeria on an international flight from Uganda.
Pate said the patient had received treatment at a private hospital in the FCT for several days before the infection was identified.
He added that she had been isolated and placed under medical observation as health authorities began efforts to prevent further transmission.
Public health teams subsequently began tracing people who had contact with the patient, including healthcare workers, patients, caregivers and others who might have been exposed during her journey.
On Sunday, the Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), Jide Idris, disclosed that the agency had identified two additional suspected Ebola cases and 53 primary contacts.
Speaking at a press briefing in Abuja, Idris said the agency had established isolation and quarantine facilities to support its response to the outbreak.
“We have established two additional suspected cases and 53 primary contact links. They are primary contacts. We have an isolation centre and a quarantine centre,” he said.
Idris added that about 12 public and private laboratories were available to test for Ebola, while the NCDC had strengthened its laboratory capacity to ensure suspected cases were promptly investigated.
He urged healthcare facilities to improve screening, triage and infection prevention measures and ensure that health workers had adequate personal protective equipment.
The NCDC said its teams were monitoring people who might have been exposed to the confirmed case for 21 days after their last possible exposure.
Idris also urged Nigerians contacted by public health officials to cooperate with contact-tracing teams and provide accurate information about their movements, contacts and symptoms.
As part of efforts to support the response, the NCDC has approved a weekly payment of N100,000 per person for individuals placed in isolation or quarantine.
Idris said the financial support followed complaints from some contacts about the cost of feeding, accommodation and maintaining their families while complying with public health measures.
“We are paying for their accommodation; we are paying for their feeding. Some of them are asking for a stipend to maintain their families,” he said.
“We are providing N100,000 per person per week just to maintain their comfort and feeding, because they were complaining.”
He explained that the payment was not part of the agency’s original plan but became necessary because of the emergency.
“This was not planned for, but it is an emergency. We will continue to review it as we go along,” Idris said.
The NCDC director-general also warned that other states must prepare to provide similar support if Ebola or another public health emergency occurs within their jurisdictions.
“This is not the responsibility of the FCT alone. What we have to do for the FCT, we have to do for any other state, just in case,” he said.
According to Idris, the 53 primary contacts identified include healthcare workers, household members, domestic staff and personnel involved in collecting samples from the patient.
He said health officials were categorising the contacts according to their levels of exposure and monitoring their health throughout the 21-day incubation period.
Idris also disclosed that one contact who reported feeling unwell had tested negative for Ebola, while surveillance and follow-up activities continued.
The NCDC is strengthening infection prevention and control measures in healthcare facilities, training health workers and supporting the availability of protective equipment and laboratory supplies as Nigeria works to prevent further transmission.