. as contact tracing rises to 53
· NCDC offers N100k weekly to hospitalised patients
Anxiety is mounting among residents of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, following the confirmation of an imported Ebola case in Abuja, with concerns emerging over public awareness, contact tracing and the possibility of further infections.
The concerns intensified following Sunday’s announcement by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, NCDC, that it had identified two additional suspected cases of the Ebola virus disease and increased the number of primary contacts being monitored from 44 to 53.
Director-General of the NCDC, Jide Idris, at a press briefing in Abuja on Sunday, said the contacts include healthcare workers, the confirmed patient’s domestic staff and spouse, as well as health personnel involved in collecting samples from the patient.
“As of now, we have 53 primary contacts. These comprise 44 people from the health facility where the patient was treated and nine additional contacts.
“Of the nine additional contacts, three are household members of the patient, her driver, chef and husband. Three others attended to her at Julius Berger Clinic before she got to the other facility, while the remaining three are members of the team who went to collect samples.”
The NCDC, however, said none of the 53 primary contacts had tested positive or developed symptoms as of Sunday’s briefing. The two additional suspected cases have not been established as confirmed Ebola infections.
This development has heightened questions among some residents about the extent of possible exposure to the confirmed case and the capacity of health authorities to prevent further transmission.
The NCDC, also revealed that an emergency payment of N100,000 would be paid to persons placed in isolation or quarantine weekly as part of efforts to contain the Ebola outbreak in Abuja.
Idris said the payment was introduced after some contacts complained about the cost of feeding, accommodation and maintaining their families while undergoing public health monitoring.
Idris on the agency’s response to the outbreak, explained that the financial support was an emergency measure to ensure that people identified as contacts could comply with monitoring arrangements without facing additional financial hardship.
“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.
He added, “We are providing N100,000 per person per week just to maintain their comfort and feeding, because they were complaining.”
In Bwari, a resident seen purchasing antimalarial drugs at a local chemist dismissed the possibility that he could contract Ebola, arguing that he had neither travelled abroad nor visited Abuja city centre.
“How can I have Ebola when they say the woman who brought the sickness into Nigeria came from Uganda? I don’t even go into Abuja town, so how would I have met the woman who came from outside the country? That one na big men wahala, abeg,” he said in local parlance.
Another resident, Anita Osho, said the latest development had reinforced concerns she had earlier harbored about contact tracing, particularly given reports that the index patient had spent some time at home before seeking medical attention.
“The additional cases confirmed what I’ve been worried about. If the index case went home before showing up at the hospital, then we may have serious problems getting the contact tracing right,” she said.
Osho recalled Nigeria’s experience during the 2014 Ebola outbreak, when Liberian-American Patrick Sawyer was taken to a hospital in Lagos after arriving in the country, saying she was concerned about the challenge of identifying people who might have been exposed in the current situation.
“I’m praying we get it right, but honestly, I’m afraid we may not,” she added.
Kabir Hassan, another resident, questioned whether the number of people currently being traced represented everyone who might have come into contact with the index patient.
“My worry is whether the 53 people they are currently tracing are indeed the number of people who had contact with the index case,” he said.
Hassan also expressed concern about the two suspected cases, saying he feared that further infections could have serious health and economic consequences for the country.
The Nigerian government confirmed the imported Ebola case in the FCT on October 20, following laboratory confirmation in a woman who had travelled to Nigeria from Uganda.
Meanwhile, the FCT Administration has assured residents of its capacity to contain the infection.
The Mandate Secretary of the FCTA Health Services and Environment Secretariat, Dr. Adedolapo Fasawe, said at a briefing, weekend, that designated isolation facilities at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital and the National Hospital were equipped and on standby.
She said the administration has directed public and private health facilities to maintain heightened vigilance, enforce infection-prevention measures and promptly report suspected cases.
Fasawe urged residents to remain calm, maintain personal hygiene and obtain information from official health channels as surveillance and contact tracing continue.
