Health warning from NCDC regarding the Ebola outbreak: A state of high alert has been declared

In the health warning issued by NCDC Director General Jide Idris, it was stated that the latest developments regarding the epidemic in the DRC are being closely followed and that preparation efforts are continuing against possible threats.

In the statement, it was stated that the country was on "high alert" due to the epidemic, and that the measures taken would continue to be reviewed according to the course of the epidemic and public health risk assessments.

In the statement, it was emphasized that passengers coming to Nigeria from countries where Ebola transmission is active or related countries should fill out the Health Declaration Form within the scope of increased public health surveillance and follow-up measures.

In the statement, it was noted that passengers coming from other countries are not obliged to fill out the form in question at this stage, and called on the Nigerian people to "be vigilant".

In the statement, people who showed symptoms compatible with Ebola were asked to contact health institutions without delay and, when necessary, to share their travel or contact history with health authorities.

In its update on September 20, KDC reported that, according to the data obtained until September 19, there were a total of 7 thousand 672 confirmed cases and 3 thousand 699 deaths in the country.

Ebola caused thousands of deaths in Africa

The Ebola virus, which causes a type of hemorrhagic fever, first appeared in 1976 with simultaneous epidemics in Nzara, Sudan, and Yambuku, DRC.

Since the epidemic in the DRC started in a village near the Ebola River, the disease was named after this river.

The Ebola virus spread in West Africa in December 2013. In the epidemic seen in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone between 2014 and 2017, 30 thousand people were infected with the virus and more than 11 thousand of the patients died.

An epidemic was declared in the country on May 15, following 246 suspected cases and 65 deaths announced in Ituri province in the east of the DRC.

According to health officials, there is no approved treatment or vaccine for the "Bundibugyo" Ebola variant that broke out in May.