The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has approved an emergency payment of N100,000 per person weekly for individuals placed in isolation or quarantine over Ebola concerns, as the Federal Government plans to establish and equip treatment centres in states with designated ports of entry.
The financial intervention is aimed at easing the burden of feeding, accommodation and family upkeep on people required to comply with public health monitoring measures, as the number of identified contacts linked to Nigeria’s confirmed Ebola case rises to 53 from the initial 44.
NCDC Director-General, Dr Jide Idris, disclosed the payment during a press briefing on Sunday, explaining that some contacts had complained about the financial difficulties associated with remaining in isolation or quarantine.
“We are paying for their accommodation; we are paying for their feeding. Some of them are asking for a stipend to maintain their families,” Idris said.
He added, “We are providing N100,000 per person per week just to maintain their comfort and feeding, because they were complaining.”
According to Idris, the payment was not part of the original response plan but became necessary because of the circumstances surrounding the outbreak.
“This was not planned for, but it is an emergency. We will continue to review it as we go along,” he said.
The NCDC chief also warned that the responsibility for financing emergency public health measures should not rest solely with the Federal Capital Territory, urging state governments to make adequate financial and logistical provisions for contact tracing, isolation and surveillance.
“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.
The intervention comes as the Federal Government intensifies preparations to contain the outbreak, including plans to identify and optimise treatment centres in states with designated ports of entry.
According to an Ebola situation report obtained on Sunday, the government has completed a needs assessment and optimisation of the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital as an isolation and treatment centre, while an infection prevention and control assessment is planned for Karu General Hospital in Abuja to determine its capacity to accommodate additional isolation needs.
The authorities also plan to establish referral mechanisms to ensure that suspected cases are transferred promptly from the point of detection to designated treatment facilities, including those outside Abuja.
The national incident management system has been activated, with an Incident Action Plan guiding activities across surveillance, case management, laboratory services, infection prevention and control, logistics and port health.
Contacts rise to 53
The latest situation report showed that the number of identified contacts had increased to 53 from the initial 44 announced after the confirmed case was reported in Abuja.
Idris said 44 of the contacts were linked to the health facility where the infected woman was treated, while the remaining nine included household members and people who attended to her during an earlier emergency-room visit.
Health officials are also identifying secondary contacts to establish whether any of those already under monitoring may have exposed other people.
The NCDC said contacts would be monitored daily, with anyone who developed symptoms assessed promptly.
Idris disclosed that one contact who reported feeling unwell had tested negative, although surveillance and follow-up activities were continuing.
The agency has also revised its case definition for Ebola to help health workers and surveillance teams identify suspected infections more quickly.
Laboratory and border surveillance strengthened
The situation report disclosed that genomic sequencing of the confirmed case had been completed by the NCDC National Reference Laboratory and the African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases.
The next steps include sharing the sequencing report, continuing diagnostic testing and distributing additional laboratory reagents and commodities across the national laboratory network.
The report also stated that 500 donated laboratory testing kits had been incorporated into the national stockpile, while additional personal protective equipment and essential supplies would be positioned in high-risk states.
Port Health Services has conducted investigations with aviation stakeholders, with enhanced surveillance planned at airports and other designated ports of entry.
The response also includes strengthening infection prevention and control procedures in healthcare facilities, training health workers and implementing additional screening and isolation measures.
Woman tested positive after travel
The confirmed case involves a woman who travelled to Nigeria after visiting Uganda, following a trip to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
According to information previously provided by health authorities, she developed symptoms on October 7, sought medical attention in Abuja on October 11 and tested positive for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola virus on October 20.
The World Health Organisation has said investigations are continuing to establish the likely source of the infection.
Ebola spreads through direct contact with the blood, body fluids or tissues of infected people or animals, as well as contaminated materials. Health authorities have urged Nigerians to practise regular hand hygiene, avoid contact with potentially infectious body fluids and cooperate with contact-tracing teams.
FG draws on 2014 experience
Nigeria previously contained Ebola transmission during the 2014 outbreak through rapid case identification, isolation, contact tracing and coordinated public health interventions.
The current response is drawing on those lessons, with authorities seeking to strengthen isolation capacity, improve laboratory readiness and ensure that states can respond if additional cases are identified.
The NCDC has urged Nigerians to remain calm, rely on official information and avoid stigmatising people placed under monitoring.
The agency stressed that prompt reporting of symptoms, cooperation with public health officials and adequate preparedness by federal and state authorities remain essential to preventing further transmission.
