FG don order 46 people wey get contact with woman wey Ebola catch make dem no enter plane for 21 days, as government dey work to stop the sickness from spreading for Nigeria.
Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, don direct Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to inform local and foreign airlines about the order.
The decision come after Keyamo meet online with Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, on Wednesday to discuss how to stop Ebola from spreading. Na the first confirmed Ebola case for Nigeria since 2014.
Laboratory tests confirm on October 20 say the woman get Bundibugyo strain of Ebola. World Health Organisation (WHO) talk say the woman recently travel from Uganda come Nigeria.
According to WHO, she begin show signs of sickness on October 7, four days after she arrive Nigeria. She later go one private hospital for Abuja on October 11 to receive treatment.
Report from Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) show say doctors first treat her for sickness wey resemble malaria, but her condition no improve. Her travel history make doctors suspect say the sickness fit be something different, so dem carry out more tests.
Director of Public Health Laboratory Services for NCDC, Olajumoke Babatunde, confirm the type of Ebola wey the woman get during emergency meeting for Abuja on Wednesday.
Babatunde talk say dem carry out three levels of laboratory tests, and the results confirm say na Bundibugyo strain.
One official for the meeting disclose say the woman na diplomat, and her condition don reach the stage wey several organs for her body dey fail. Government never reveal the country wey she come from.
Pate earlier talk say dem don isolate the woman and dey give her medical care, while health officials dey trace people wey get contact with her.
eyamo explain say Pate give am the list of people wey dem identify during the investigation. According to am, 44 people get contact with the woman for hospital when she don begin show signs of sickness, while two other people wey dey work for her house also dey on the list.
Keyamo talk say health officials dey make arrangements to isolate the people until dem confirm whether the virus don infect any of dem.
He explain say the aviation authorities must stop the 46 people from flying for at least 21 days while health officials dey monitor dem.
The minister also direct NCAA to quickly inform all local and foreign airlines about the order.
Apart from the no-fly order, Keyamo direct Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to increase Ebola checks and other safety measures for all international airports.
He talk say the measures include checking passengers’ health, testing their body temperature, checking their travel history, collecting health information through digital forms and making sure different government agencies work together.
WHO confirm say the woman get Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, wey no get approved vaccine or specific treatment at the moment. The organisation talk say investigation still dey go on to find out how she take get the virus and the places wey she visit before dem discover the sickness.
WHO and other partners dey support Nigerian health officials with investigation, tracing of people wey get contact with the patient, infection prevention and control, and supply of protective equipment for health workers.
The organisation don also urge other countries for the region to strengthen disease monitoring, laboratory testing, emergency response and checks for airports and other entry points.
Ebola fit spread when person get direct contact with the blood or other body fluids of an infected person wey don begin show symptoms. Person fit also catch am through materials wey the virus don contaminate.
The virus fit take between two and 21 days before symptoms show, na why health officials need to identify and monitor everybody wey get contact with infected people.
The latest case don raise fresh concern about the possibility of Ebola spreading across country borders. But health officials dey work to identify more people wey fit don get contact with the patient and prevent the sickness from spreading.
Nigeria don control Ebola outbreak before, for 2014, after one infected traveller bring the virus enter the country. Health officials use isolation, contact tracing and joint efforts to stop the spread at that time.
For this current case, government dey focus on monitoring the 46 people, strengthening safety measures for the hospital wey treat the woman and increasing checks for airports and other places wey people dey enter the country.
