Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, has urged Nigerians to remain vigilant and avoid misinformation as the Federal Government intensifies efforts to contain a confirmed Ebola case in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Speaking on Wednesday after meeting with the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, in Abuja, Pate said Nigeria was collaborating with Uganda, while health authorities traced contacts and implemented measures to prevent further infections.
He said the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) had activated its incident management system, with response teams coordinating containment efforts.
He urged Nigerians to rely on verified public health information and assured them that the government would provide updates as developments were confirmed.
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The case was announced on Tuesday, October 20. The patient, a woman who recently travelled to Nigeria from Uganda, was treated at a private hospital in the FCT before laboratory tests confirmed Bundibugyo Ebola virus disease.
Authorities had identified 44 close contacts for monitoring, while investigations continued to establish the source of infection.
Nigeria contained an Ebola outbreak in 2014 after an infected Liberian traveller arrived in Lagos. The outbreak recorded 20 cases and eight deaths before the country was declared Ebola-free on October 20, 2014, following 42 days without a new case.
Surveillance, patient isolation and contact tracing remain central to efforts to prevent further transmission in the current incident.