The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) says it has intensified preparedness measures against Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), including surveillance, risk communication and emergency response coordination nationwide.
Dr Olaolu Aderinola, Deputy Lead, National Ebola Response at the NCDC, said this on Thursday during a webinar on Nigeria Ebola Risk Communication, Community Engagement and Infodemic Management Preparedness (RCCE+IM).
Aderinola said the agency had issued preparedness advisories to state commissioners of health, activated surveillance systems and strengthened coordination mechanisms to prevent any potential outbreak in Nigeria.
He said President Bola Tinubu had established a Presidential Task Force on Ebola preparedness and approved N10 billion as emergency intervention funding to strengthen national response capacity.
According to him, states have been classified into high, medium and low-risk categories based on the presence of international airports, land borders and population connectivity patterns.
“No state is exempted because of how interconnected Nigeria is,” he said.
Aderinola said the NCDC had intensified public health messaging through television, radio and social media, while producing information materials in English, Pidgin, Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo.
He added that social listening activities were ongoing to monitor public concerns, misinformation and emerging narratives surrounding the disease.
According to him, the National Reference Laboratory has testing capacity for Ebola, while surveillance teams have updated case definitions and reactivated the electronic health declaration portal for travellers.
He said Port Health authorities had intensified screening at points of entry, while treatment centres were being assessed and personal protective equipment prepositioned across strategic locations.
“Surveillance teams shared a case definition and reactivated the electronic health declaration portal for travellers.
“Port Health is screening at points of entry. Treatment centres are being assessed and IPC training links have been shared,” he said.
Aderinola said logistics teams had also prepositioned personal protective equipment and essential consumables to support rapid response if needed.
Providing an update on the outbreak, he said that as of June 6, there were 533 confirmed Ebola cases in affected countries.
According to him, 513 cases were recorded in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), while Uganda had reported 19 confirmed cases.
He added that 84 deaths had been recorded, with 82 occurring in DRC and two in Uganda.
According to him, case fatality rates currently stand at 16 per cent in DRC and 10.5 per cent in Uganda.
“Contact tracing is ongoing with 5,103 contacts being followed in DRC and 668 in Uganda.
“So far, 11 people have recovered, seven from DRC and four from Uganda,” he said.
Aderinola said the outbreak was currently affecting Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu provinces in northeastern DRC.
He, however, noted that the disease had crossed into Uganda, adding that the Kampala situation had been contained and remained largely hospital-linked.
“In DRC, we are seeing community transmission complicated by political instability, mining activities, cross-border movement and insecurity,” he said.
He identified key challenges as cross-border transmission, gaps in isolation and contact tracing, insufficient treatment beds and inadequate safe burial teams.
Other challenges, according to him, include low infection prevention and control readiness, community trust issues and disruptions to supply chains and personnel deployment.
He said the World Health Organisation Africa, Africa CDC and partners established an Incident Management Support Team on May 22 to coordinate response efforts.
Aderinola added that a continental response plan was developed in June with an estimated cost of 518 million dollars.
According to him, DRC and Uganda are categorised as Priority 1A countries due to active outbreaks, while neighbouring countries fall under Priority 1B.
He said Nigeria is classified as a Priority Three country, with emphasis on risk monitoring and compliance with International Health Regulations.
Also speaking, Dr Nwachukwu Williams, Surveillance Pillar Lead at the NCDC, described Ebola as a severe viral disease affecting humans and non-human primates.
Williams said bats were believed to be the natural reservoir of the virus, which belongs to the Filoviridae family and has case fatality rates ranging from 25 to 90 per cent.
“Bundibugyo is causing the current outbreak. Zaire ebolavirus was first identified in 1976 in DRC and Sudan,” he said.
He recalled that the 2014–2015 Ebola outbreak in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone resulted in more than 28,000 cases and spread to several countries, including Nigeria.
Williams said passengers who departed from or transited through Uganda and DRC were currently under enhanced monitoring by Port Health authorities and state epidemiology teams.
Dr Junaid Junaid, Lead of the National Ebola Technical Working Group for RCCE, stressed the importance of trust-building during outbreaks.
According to him, RCCE help people understand risks, adopt preventive measures and resist misinformation.
“Community engagement means listening and working with communities, not just talking to them,” he said.
Junaid described an infodemic as an overabundance of information, both accurate and false, which makes it difficult for people to identify credible sources.
“We manage it in four stages: detect, analyse, respond with trusted messages and provide feedback,” he said.
He added that misinformation, disinformation, malinformation and rumours all pose threats to effective outbreak response and public confidence.
Junaid said the agency updates message banks weekly, produces information materials in five languages and trains media professionals to promote accurate reporting
. “Core message: Nigeria has no confirmed outbreak yet. Practice hand hygiene and prevention. Rely only on official sources like NCDC and the Ministry of Health,” he said.