Zamfara steps up Ebola surveillance, screening

The Zamfara Government had stepped up surveillance against Ebola by conducting mass screening at the Gusau International Airport and across motor parks. This was done to prevent possible spread of the virus in the state. The Commissioner for Health, Dr Nafisa Maradun, disclosed this while flagging-off the response team at the Gusau International Airport on Friday.

She said the state government initiated the response measure following the arrival of a passenger, an indigene of Zamfara, from Saudi Arabia via EgyptAir, who presented with high temperature. Maradun said the measures were aimed at preventing an outbreak of the virus in the state. She said the government had also intensified screening of passengers and commuters arriving at Gusau motor parks and other entry points, noting that raising public awareness remained key to curbing possible spread of the virus.

The move, according to the commissioner, follows the reported index case in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention had disclosed that the index patient diagnosed with the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus in Nigeria is a Ugandan-born woman who arrived in the FCT with her husband on October 3.

Flagging off the response at the airport, Maradun said: “It becomes necessary as the surveillance team identified a passenger arriving from Saudi Arabia via EgyptAir with high temperature.” She said officials had been deployed to the airport to screen passengers arriving in Zamfara by air to ensure no one imports the Ebola virus into the state.