The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) says it is maintaining heightened vigilance across airport operations, following the confirmation of the country’s first Ebola case in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
It said it is working with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), Port Health Services, Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and other relevant agencies to support ongoing containment efforts.
The agency stated that early identification of the case and commencement of contact tracing underscore the importance of established public health protocols, effective surveillance and inter-agency collaboration in responding to potential health threats.
“FAAN is maintaining heightened vigilance across airport operations and will continue to coordinate with public health authorities, align its response with further guidance and support additional measures considered necessary to safeguard passengers, airport personnel and the wider public,” it said in a statement by the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Henry Agbebire.
It urged passengers, airport users, airlines and other stakeholders to remain calm, vigilant and cooperative with health officials.
“The public is also advised to rely on verified information and avoid spreading unconfirmed reports,” it added. “FAAN reassures the travelling public of its continued readiness to work with relevant agencies to protect public health and support the safe operation of Nigeria’s airports.”
The Federal Government confirmed a case of the virus in the FCT on Wednesday.
Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, told journalists at a media briefing in Abuja that the imported case of Ebola virus disease was confirmed by laboratory testing.
Pate also disclosed that the patient is a woman with a recent travel history to Uganda, who returned to Nigeria with symptoms on October 7, which progressed four days later before tests confirmed the infection.
But the Ugandan authorities denied reports of an Ebola outbreak in the East African nation.
Its Ministry of Health said in a statement that the location of exposure remains under investigation, adding that travel through Uganda alone was insufficient to establish where the infection occurred.
The ministry also stated that the Nigerian government had yet to provide detailed information about the patient’s travel itinerary and clinical history, which it said would help guide further investigations and any necessary contact tracing.
The development came following the outbreak of the disease in the DR Congo in May, spreading the deadly viral haemorrhagic fever to several countries across the continent.
Kenya reported its ninth Ebola case on Tuesday.
The Ebola Bundibugyo outbreak has already become the most geographically widespread Ebola outbreak in history, affecting multiple countries across three regions of Africa, said the director general of Africa CDC, Jean Kaseya.
The DRC’s Ebola epidemic has become the deadliest in the country’s history in several months, killing 4,381 people out of more than 9,000 confirmed cases, according to the health authorities.
