The Federal Government has directed hospitals nationwide to prepare isolation beds and strengthen infection prevention measures as part of efforts to contain the Ebola outbreak, warning that 15 states are yet to update their response plans.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Muhammad Pate, gave the directive in Abuja during a press briefing on the government’s response to the outbreak, saying health facilities had been instructed to make adequate provisions for suspected cases and protect frontline health workers.
Again, while briefing the National Economic Council, he said 21 states had already accelerated preparations and strengthened their capacity to respond to the possible spread of the diseases and warned the remaining 15 states to speed up their preparations.
Pate said the government was coordinating the national response through the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, with support from the World Health Organization and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
He also urged private hospitals to promptly report suspected cases and called for the training and protection of health workers.
“We have notified all our hospitals to make room for bed capacity, isolation, and prepare their health workers in terms of infection prevention in these cases, because health workers are on the front lines,” Pate said.
He added that the federal government had also informed the Federal Capital Territory authorities and would continue to engage state governments to ensure that hospitals under their jurisdictions were adequately prepared.
The directive comes as health authorities intensify contact tracing, surveillance and emergency preparedness following the confirmation of an imported Ebola case in the FCT, raising questions about the capacity of Nigeria’s health system to manage additional infections should the virus spread.
Pate said the government was taking steps to ensure that the infection did not extend beyond the index patient and develop into community transmission.
“We don’t want it to go beyond it, and there is no need to panic, but we have to be vigilant,” he said.
The minister explained that Nigeria’s response involved not only identifying and monitoring people who had contact with the infected woman but also preparing healthcare facilities to detect, isolate and manage any additional suspected cases.
He stressed that health workers were particularly vulnerable during outbreaks because of their direct contact with patients, making strict adherence to infection prevention and control protocols essential.
According to him, the government had activated its incident management system, with the NCDC coordinating the operational response in collaboration with the FCT authorities and other relevant agencies.
Pate said the Federal Government was also working with state governments to ensure that preparedness measures extended beyond Abuja, where the confirmed case was detected.
