By Elijah Oguche, Abuja

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has stepped up efforts to contain the confirmed Ebola case in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), tracking 53 primary contacts and approving a weekly stipend of N100,000 for each eligible person requiring support during isolation or quarantine.

The agency has also directed hospitals nationwide to promptly isolate suspected Ebola cases and report them to public health authorities without waiting for laboratory confirmation, warning that delays could expose healthcare workers, patients and other members of the public to infection.

The Director-General of the NCDC, Dr Jide Idris, disclosed these measures during a press briefing in Abuja on Sunday, saying contact tracing, timely isolation and strict infection prevention and control remained critical to preventing further transmission.

Nigeria confirmed an imported case of Ebola disease caused by the Bundibugyo virus in the FCT on October 20, following investigations into the illness of a 42-year-old woman who travelled to Nigeria from Uganda through Addis Ababa on October 3.

According to the NCDC’s Ebola Disease Situation Report dated October 24, the patient’s condition had improved remarkably while receiving treatment in isolation.

Idris said 53 primary contacts had been identified for monitoring, comprising 44 people associated with the health facility where the patient was treated and nine others identified outside the facility.

The additional contacts include members of the patient’s household, healthcare workers and people who may have been exposed to her during an earlier visit to an emergency room.

The NCDC said investigations were continuing to establish the full chain of possible exposure, with public health teams interviewing identified contacts to determine whether other people might also require monitoring.

Contacts are being categorised according to their level of exposure and followed up for 21 days after their last possible exposure, in line with the monitoring period for Ebola.

Idris explained that the agency was extending its investigations beyond the immediate contacts to identify anyone who might have been exposed through the initial group.

He said the exercise was essential to identifying potential infections early and interrupting possible chains of transmission.

In a related development, the NCDC has approved N100,000 per week for each person requiring financial assistance while under isolation or quarantine as part of the outbreak response.

Idris said the intervention followed concerns raised by some individuals under monitoring over the costs of feeding, accommodation and providing for their families while complying with public health restrictions.

“We are paying for their accommodation; we are paying for their feeding. Some of them are asking for a stipend to maintain their families,” he said.

The NCDC boss added that the agency had approved the weekly payment to help eligible individuals meet essential needs and encourage cooperation with health officials.

“We are providing N100,000 per person per week just to maintain their comfort and feeding, because they were complaining,” he said.

He described the intervention as an emergency measure that was not initially included in the response plan, adding that the arrangement would be reviewed as the situation evolved.

Idris also called on state governments to strengthen their financial and logistical preparedness for public health emergencies, stressing that the responsibility for supporting affected individuals should not rest solely on the FCT authorities.

He said other states must be prepared to provide comparable assistance should they experience similar outbreaks, while ensuring adequate resources for contact tracing, isolation and other emergency response activities.

Beyond contact tracing and financial assistance, the NCDC has directed healthcare facilities nationwide to maintain effective screening and triage systems and immediately separate suspected Ebola patients from other patients.

Idris warned that healthcare workers must not wait for laboratory results before implementing appropriate protective measures whenever Ebola is suspected.

“Any suspected case must be promptly separated from other patients and reported to the relevant public health authorities. Healthcare workers should not wait for laboratory confirmation before taking appropriate precautions,” he said.

He emphasised that healthcare workers were particularly vulnerable when suspected infections were not promptly recognised and managed.

“Protecting healthcare workers is essential to protecting the communities they serve,” he added.

The agency said infection prevention measures should include regular hand hygiene, environmental cleaning, injection safety, safe handling of sharps, proper waste management and the appropriate use of personal protective equipment.

It is also strengthening surveillance, laboratory investigations, risk communication and preparedness across health facilities in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, FCT authorities and other partners.

The NCDC has activated its national incident management system at the highest level, with response activities coordinated through its Emergency Operations Centre.

Idris said the detection of the case underscored the importance of surveillance systems and the vigilance of healthcare workers in identifying and reporting unusual illnesses.

Patient’s Movements under Investigation

The confirmed case followed an alert from a private health facility on October 19. According to the NCDC’s situation report, the patient developed symptoms on October 7, four days after arriving in Nigeria.

Her symptoms included fever, diarrhoea, generalised body aches and sore throat. She first presented at a private health facility on October 10 and was admitted to another private facility on October 11.

The NCDC was notified on October 19, and laboratory testing confirmed the infection the following day. No bleeding was reported in the case details contained in the situation report.

Investigations are focusing on people who may have come into contact with the patient at the different locations she visited, including healthcare personnel involved in her treatment and sample collection.

The agency has also deployed infection prevention and control teams to assess healthcare facilities, identify gaps and recommend corrective measures.

Idris acknowledged the need to improve technical capacity among health workers at state and local government levels, noting that effective outbreak management depends on trained personnel and functional infection prevention systems.

He said training and capacity building remained priorities in strengthening the country’s response to infectious disease emergencies.

As part of the investigation, genomic sequencing was completed by the NCDC’s National Reference Laboratory and the African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases.

Meanwhile, a suspected Ebola case reported in Rivers State on October 23 tested negative, according to the NCDC’s situation report.

The result meant the alert had not produced another confirmed case in the report, although health authorities continue to stress the importance of prompt reporting, investigation and testing of suspected infections.

The agency has urged members of the public to cooperate with contact-tracing teams and avoid stigmatising people identified as contacts.

Idris clarified that being listed as a contact did not mean that an individual had contracted the disease.

“Being identified as a contact does not mean that you have Ebola,” he said.

He also cautioned against misinformation, warning that false reports could create panic, discourage people from reporting symptoms and undermine public cooperation.

Nigeria’s experience in containing the 2014 Ebola outbreak, he said, was informing current preparedness and containment efforts.

The NCDC reiterated that prompt reporting of suspected cases, effective surveillance, timely isolation, strict infection prevention measures and cooperation from affected individuals remained essential to containing the confirmed case and detecting any further infections.

From  Dan Amasingha, Minna.

Angry vehicle owners on Sunday staged a peaceful protest at the NNPC Mega Station along the Western Bypass in Minna, Niger State, over the alleged three-month shutdown of the facility’s Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) dispensing service.

The protesters, who accused the station’s management of failing to address the persistent shortage, said the development had frustrated the Federal Government’s initiative to promote CNG as a cheaper alternative to Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly known as petrol.

They lamented that despite investing hundreds of thousands of naira and, in some cases, over ₦1 million to convert their vehicles to run on CNG, they had been unable to access the product in the state capital for months.

Findings indicated that a component of the station’s CNG dispensing equipment had reportedly developed a fault but had allegedly remained unrepaired, leaving motorists who rely on the alternative fuel with little choice but to return to the more expensive petrol.

The persistent outage, the protesters said, had not only undermined the economic benefits of converting their vehicles but had also imposed additional financial burdens on vehicle owners already grappling with rising transportation and fuel costs.

Speaking during the protest, one of the motorists, Engr. Israel Ogbonnaya, described the situation as discouraging, alleging that repeated visits to the station to obtain explanations from the management had yielded no meaningful response.

“It is so discouraging that for three months now, the CNG station at NNPC Minna has not functioned. Imagine that since January, some people did conversion and have not recovered their money,” he said.

Ogbonnaya expressed disappointment that motorists had allegedly received no satisfactory explanation regarding the prolonged breakdown.

“The CNG broke down, nobody has spoken to us. We have come here several times demanding answers from the management, and nobody is talking.

“So, for now, we want to bring the attention of Nigerians and those in authority to the situation in Minna.

 CNG is the heartbeat of the President. He commissioned a committee to look into this scheme, and these people are taking us for granted,” he added.

Another protester, Mohammed Doko Saidu, questioned the rationale behind encouraging motorists to convert their vehicles to CNG without ensuring the availability of adequate dispensing facilities to meet demand.

Saidu disclosed that he had spent more than ₦1 million converting his vehicle, only to discover that the product was unavailable in Minna.

“The frustrating aspect of all is that I just installed CNG, spending over a million naira, without a single gas in Minna; hoping that it is going to be fixed today, it is going to be fixed tomorrow, and up till this moment, there is nothing.

“Nobody is saying anything. The station is just lying fallow. In short, I had to disconnect some of the cylinders installed in my car because there is no gas.

 What kind of government are we in? It is frustrating,” he said.

The protesters called on the NNPC Mega Station’s management and other relevant stakeholders to urgently repair the faulty equipment and restore CNG supply to Minna.

They warned that failure to resolve the problem could trigger another protest involving a larger number of aggrieved motorists, including commercial tricycle operators who also depend on CNG to reduce their operating costs.

The motorists maintained that the prolonged unavailability of the product had defeated the purpose of the conversion programme, forcing them to bear the cost of installing CNG systems while continuing to spend more on petrol.

The development raises concerns among affected motorists over the reliability of CNG supply infrastructure and the need for prompt maintenance of facilities established to support the Federal Government’s alternative-fuel initiative.

Efforts to obtain comments from the manager of the NNPC Mega Station were unsuccessful as of press time, while attendants on duty declined to speak on behalf of the management.

From Joseph Amedu, Lokoja 

The Chief Medical Director of the Federal Teaching Hospital, Lokoja, Professor Abdulrahman Shehu, has called for more investment in healthcare delivery

The Chief Medical Director particularly woos philanthropists, the Federal Government and the Kogi State Government to invest more in the health sector to improve healthcare delivery and strengthen hospital infrastructure.

Prof. Shehu made the call while interacting with members of the Correspondent’s Chapel of Nigeria Union of Journalists, Kogi State Council who were in his office to clarify some issues affecting the hospital on Friday.

The renowned medical practitioner who was represented by the Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee (CMAC) Dr Raphael Odekunle, said increased private-sector and philanthropic support would complement government efforts in providing modern facilities, medical equipment and other essential resources required for hospitals to deliver quality and affordable healthcare services.

The CMD, who spoke on efforts by the new management to reposition the hospital, said the administration was committed to improving infrastructure, enhancing service delivery and ensuring that healthcare workers remained responsive to patients’ needs.

He stressed that the management would continue to introduce reforms aimed at making services more accessible, efficient and patient-friendly.

Shehu urged patients experiencing difficulties in the course of receiving treatment to channel their complaints through the hospital’s Servicom platform, describing it as an effective avenue for prompt attention to their concerns.

According to him, the platform provides patients with an opportunity to report challenges encountered while accessing healthcare services, enabling the management to identify and address such issues without unnecessary delays.

To reduce the stress of moving between departments in search of medical services, the CMD disclosed that the hospital had introduced a clinical system that brings essential service units together in one location.

He explained that the arrangement accommodates revenue, pharmacy, laboratory and National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) units, allowing patients to access the services they need more conveniently.

Shehu said the management planned to extend the system to other parts of the hospital to further improve service delivery and minimise the difficulties patients encounter while seeking treatment.

He, however, appealed to the Federal Government to intervene in the hospital’s infrastructure, noting that improved facilities were necessary to bring its operations in line with the standards expected of a teaching hospital.

On the hospital’s wallet payment system, the CMD defended the arrangement, describing it as a measure designed to promote transparency, accountability and curb fraudulent practices.

He explained that the system enables the hospital to manage patients’ payments in an accountable manner while ensuring that funds are used to provide the required services.

Shehu acknowledged concerns over delays in refunding patients’ unspent balances, assuring that the management was working to remove the bottlenecks associated with the process.

“We are working on how best we can remove the bottlenecks associated with delays in refunding unspent money to patients,” he said.

The CMD also appealed to the Federal and Kogi State governments to intensify public awareness and encourage more residents to enrol in the National Health Insurance Scheme to improve access to healthcare.

He noted that measures were being put in place to ensure the availability of drugs under the scheme, while clarifying that not all medications were covered by the NHIS.

Shehu urged enrollees to familiarise themselves with the scheme’s drug coverage to avoid misunderstandings when accessing prescribed medications.

On emergency care, the CMD assured that the hospital would continue to prioritise saving lives, stressing that emergency cases were attended to before payment was demanded.

He said the hospital’s primary responsibility was to preserve lives, adding that financial considerations would not take precedence over urgent medical attention in emergency situations.

The CMD further pledged that the management would sustain the training and retraining of medical and non-medical personnel to improve professionalism, strengthen patient relations and ensure that patients received satisfactory care.

He expressed confidence that the ongoing reforms, combined with improved infrastructure and support from government and private benefactors, would enhance the hospital’s capacity to provide quality healthcare services to the people.

Earlier, the Chairman of the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Kogi State Council, Comrade Segun Ademola Salami, commended the management of the hospital for upgrading its facilities to enhance effective healthcare delivery to residents of Kogi State and Nigerians at large.

He urged the Chief Medical Director (CMD) not to relent in his efforts to ensure that the hospital lives up to its status as a teaching hospital through the provision of quality and accessible healthcare services.

Comrade Salami, however, appealed to the management to address the challenges patients encounter while accessing medical services at the facility.