Nigeria strengthens preventive measures following Ebola outbreak in Uganda

Nigeria has strengthened preventive measures at entry points following an outbreak of the Ebola virus in Uganda, said health authorities on Monday.

In a statement, the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) said that it has scaled up screening of passengers returning from Uganda at airports and cautioned Nigerians against embarking on non-essential travel to Uganda for now.

The warning is to enable health authorities to determine how the Ebola outbreak will be contained, said Ifedayo Adetifa, head of the NCDC.

“Travellers to Nigeria with recent travel history to Uganda or people already in Nigeria but with recent travel history to or transit through Uganda within the past 21 days are to look out for symptoms,” said Adetifa.

Travellers with symptoms including fever, muscle pain, sore throat, diarrhoea, weakness, vomiting, stomach pain, or unexplained bleeding or bruising should promptly call the health authorities for assessment and testing, said Adetifa.

“Such people should not visit health facilities by themselves to avoid further spread through the shared transport system,” said Adetifa.