By Editor
Festus Keyamo, minister of aviation and aerospace development, has directed the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to place 46 persons who came in contact with an Ebola patient on a no-fly list for 21 days.
Keyamo announced the directive in an X post on Wednesday, following a virtual meeting with Muhammad Ali Pate, coordinating minister of health and social welfare, over the Ebola outbreak.
On Tuesday, Nigeria confirmed its first case of Ebola Bundibugyo virus disease (BVD), after a diplomat who reportedly arrived from Uganda fell ill in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Pate said the federal government has identified 44 close contacts for tracing to prevent further transmission.
Keyamo said Pate provided him with the list of 44 persons who came in contact with the affected person at a hospital after the patient developed symptoms, as well as two domestic staff.
The minister said efforts are ongoing to isolate the contacts pending confirmation that they had not been infected with the virus.
He added that he had directed the NCAA to notify all local and international airlines of the development.
Keyamo also directed the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to strengthen Ebola response and surveillance protocols at all international airports.
According to him, the measures being implemented by FAAN include enhanced health screenings, temperature checks, travel history tracking, digital health declarations and coordination with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC).
He said the measures followed earlier regional outbreak alerts.
Ebola is an infectious disease caused by a virus. It spreads through direct contact with the blood or body fluids of someone who is sick with the disease or has died from it, or through contact with contaminated materials.
The World Health Organisation has noted that Ebola is a fatal infection that can begin with fever, headache, muscle pain and weakness before progressing to vomiting, diarrhoea and, in some cases, internal or external bleeding.
