Ebola alert: Nigeria activates emergency protocols after WHO emergency declaration

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) says it has activated its emergency preparedness systems following a declaration by the World Health Organization (WHO) designating the ongoing Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).

While the NCDC has assured citizens that Nigeria has not recorded any confirmed cases of Ebola associated with this regional outbreak, the agency is refusing to take any chances. Citing an evolving regional situation and a heavy volume of cross-border travel, the nation’s public health defence system has kicked into high gear to prevent the lethal virus from breaching Nigerian borders.

Strict orders to state health commissioners

In an urgent directive issued yesterday, NCDC Director-General Dr Jide Idris ordered State Ministries of Health and the FCT Mandate Secretary to immediately overhaul and strengthen their health emergency architecture. State health leadership has been instructed to place Public Health Emergency Operations Centres (PHEOCs/EOCs) on high alert and rapidly assess the operational readiness of State Rapid Response Teams (RRTs).

“Surveillance and preparedness activities continue across the country,” the NCDC noted, making it clear that states must review and update their Viral Haemorrhagic Fever (VHF) response plans without delay.

Securing borders and health facilities

With major hubs across the country at risk of imported cases, the NCDC has directed states with international airports, seaports, and land borders to heighten vigilance. The agency is working alongside Port Health Services to reinforce strict traveller screening, referral systems, and alert management.

On the domestic front, the NCDC has rolled out critical operational mandates to healthcare facilities:

Early detection: Updated EVD case definitions are being distributed to all public and private hospitals, with instructions to immediately report suspected cases through the IDSR and SORMAS electronic platforms.

Isolation and treatment: States must rapidly designate and stock isolation centres, ensuring they are equipped with trained staff, clinical protocols, and essential medical supplies.

Infection control: This week, the NCDC IPC Unit is deploying an Ebola readiness checklist to support rapid health facility assessments, ensuring healthcare workers have immediate access to Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), infrared thermometers, and disinfectants.

Safe burials: Recognising that the unsafe handling of dead bodies is a primary driver of Ebola transmission, states have been told to pre-position body bags and review the readiness of safe burial teams.

What the public and health workers need to know

Ebola is a severe, often fatal viral illness transmitted via direct contact with the blood, bodily fluids, or secretions of infected persons or animals. It carries an incubation period of 2 to 21 days.

Symptoms to watch for include fever, weakness, headache, and muscle pain. Patients may also experience a sore throat, vomiting, and diarrhoea, alongside unexplained bleeding in severe cases.

The NCDC is advising healthcare workers to maintain a “high index of suspicion” for febrile illnesses, particularly in patients who have a history of regional travel. Frontline staff must practice strict triage, practice universal hand hygiene, and isolate suspected cases immediately.

For the general public, health officials are urging calm, emphasising that panic and misinformation are dangerous obstacles to public safety. Nigerians are advised to wash their hands regularly, avoid contact with the bodily fluids of sick individuals, steer clear of bushmeat or dead animals from unknown sources, and report any unusual illnesses immediately to the nearest health facility.

The NCDC continues to monitor regional developments closely and maintains that the public should rely strictly on updates from official Public Health Authorities.