Nigeria issues alert on fresh Ebola disease

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on Tuesday alerted the citizens to the possible outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease eight years after the country experienced the disease.

The NCDC’s alert followed reports on the outbreak of Ebola in Uganda.

The agency’s Director-General, Dr. Ifedayo Adetifa, who issued the alert in a statement in Abuja, said the fear of an Ebola outbreak arose because of the increased air travel between Nigeria and the East African country.

READ ALSO: WHO announces Ebola outbreak in Africa following death of two victims in DR Congo

Nigeria recorded its first case of EVD on July 20, 2014, when a Liberian, Amos Sawyer, arrived in the country and was admitted at the First Consultants Medical Centre in the Obalende area of Lagos.

20 cases and four fatalities were later confirmed by the country’s health authorities.

Adetifa said: “The likelihood of importation of the disease to Nigeria is high due to the increased air travel between Nigeria and Uganda, especially through Kenya’s Nairobi airport, a regional transport hub, and other neighbouring countries that share a direct border with Uganda.”

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