ABUJA — The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has established two additional suspected cases of Ebola virus disease and 53 primary contacts, its director-general Jide Idris disclosed at a press briefing in Abuja on Sunday (October 25), Nigerian media reported. "We have established two additional suspected cases and 53 primary contact links. They are primary contacts. We have an isolation centre and a quarantine centre," Idris said. The two cases are suspected, not confirmed — laboratory testing is required to establish whether they are infected.

Source: Yerwa Express News, Oct 25

The contact figure is up from the 44 identified when the Federal Government announced the imported case on October 20, Nigerian reports of the briefing said. It comprises 44 people from the health facility where the patient was treated and nine additional contacts; three of the nine are household members — the patient's driver, chef and husband. Contacts will be monitored for 21 days after their last possible exposure. NewsNet Nigeria, reporting the same briefing, said the agency clarified Nigeria still had one confirmed case as of its October 25 update, and that a suspected case investigated in Rivers State had tested negative; no contact had tested positive or developed symptoms as of the briefing, other Nigerian reports said.

Source: Paparazzi Press Nigeria / NewsNet Nigeria, Oct 25

53Primary contacts identified and under monitoring, up from 44
21 daysMonitoring period for contacts after their last possible exposure
~12Public and private laboratories able to test for Ebola, the NCDC said
100,000 naira/weekEmergency payment per quarantined person — yaani 1 lakh naira a week — for feeding and family costs

Index patient improving; hospitals told not to wait for lab results

The index patient is a 42-year-old woman who travelled from Uganda to Abuja via Addis Ababa on October 3, developed symptoms on October 7 and presented at a private hospital in the capital on October 11; she was tested on October 19 and confirmed positive for the Bundibugyo strain on October 20, and Health Minister Muhammad Ali Pate has said she is responding to treatment, Nigerian reports said. Idris said about 12 public and private laboratories can test for Ebola and that laboratory capacity has been strengthened, and he urged public and private health facilities to strengthen screening, triage and infection prevention, ensure health workers have adequate protective equipment, and isolate any suspected case promptly without waiting for laboratory confirmation.

Source: Yerwa Express News / Paparazzi Press Nigeria, Oct 25

Quarantine pay to keep contacts compliant

To ensure compliance, the agency has approved an emergency payment of 100,000 naira per person per week to support those placed in isolation or quarantine, Idris said, adding that the payment was introduced after some contacts complained about the cost of feeding and maintaining their families. "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. "We are providing 100,000 naira per person per week just to maintain their comfort and feeding, because they were complaining." Idris urged Nigerians contacted by public health officials to cooperate with tracing teams and provide accurate information about their movements, contacts and symptoms.

Source: Yerwa Express News, Oct 25