Nigeria Activates Emergency Preparedness as Ebola Outbreak Spreads Regionally
Korede Abdullah 
LAGOS, Nigeria – The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has placed Lagos State, the Federal Capital Territory, Rivers State and Kano State on high Ebola preparedness alert following the growing outbreak of Bundibugyo Ebola Virus Disease in parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.
In a public health advisory issued on Thursday to state Commissioners for Health, the NCDC warns that Nigeria faces a “HIGH” risk of importing the deadly virus because of regional transmission, international travel, porous borders and active trade routes.
“The overall risk of importation of the disease into Nigeria has been assessed as HIGH due to increasing ongoing regional transmission, international travel, regional population movement, major airports, seaports, porous land borders, informal crossings and trade routes,” the agency states.
According to the advisory, 1,077 suspected Ebola cases and 247 deaths have already been reported in affected countries, representing a fatality rate of 24.6 per cent.
The NCDC identifies Lagos, FCT, Rivers, Kano, Enugu, Borno, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Taraba and Adamawa as red alert states because of heavy international movement and trade activities.
The agency says the World Health Organization’s declaration of the outbreak as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern increases the urgency for nationwide readiness despite no confirmed case in Nigeria.
“The immediate objective of our national preparedness and readiness efforts is to ensure that every State and the FCT can reasonably detect, contain and respond swiftly to any suspected case,” the advisory says.
The NCDC warns that the Bundibugyo strain currently has no approved vaccine or specific treatment, making early detection and rapid public health intervention critical.
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Edino Chubiyo Cornelius 
Otamere Gladness 