-
Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo orders NCAA to place 46 contacts of Nigeria’s confirmed Ebola patient on a 21-day no-fly list.
-
The affected persons comprise 44 people exposed to the patient at a hospital and two members of her domestic staff.
-
The patient, a diplomat, tested positive for the Bundibugyo strain after travelling from Uganda to Nigeria and developing symptoms four days after arrival.
-
FAAN is directed to strengthen Ebola surveillance at international airports through screening, temperature checks, travel-history tracking and digital health declarations.
October 22, (THEWILL) – The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has directed the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to place 46 persons identified as contacts of Nigeria’s confirmed Ebola patient on a no-fly list for 21 days, as the Federal Government intensifies measures to prevent further spread of the virus.
Keyamo gave the directive after a virtual meeting on Wednesday with the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, during which both ministers reviewed the government’s response to Nigeria’s first confirmed Ebola case since 2014.
The aviation minister said Pate provided him with details of the persons identified through contact-tracing efforts following the confirmation of the case.
According to Keyamo, 44 of the affected persons had contact with the infected woman at the hospital where she sought treatment after developing symptoms, while the remaining two are members of her domestic staff.
“He shared with me a list of 44 persons with whom the affected person came in contact at the hospital when she had developed the symptoms and an additional two persons who are her domestic staff”, Keyamo said.
He explained that arrangements were being made to isolate the contacts while health authorities determine whether any of them had contracted the virus.
“Whilst efforts are ongoing to isolate them for now until there is certainty they had not been infected with the virus, the aviation authorities are required to put them on a no-fly list for at least 21 days”, he added.
Keyamo directed the NCAA to immediately notify all local and international airlines of the development to ensure that none of the 46 identified contacts is permitted to travel by air during the monitoring period.
The directive comes as health authorities race to contain the imported Ebola case and prevent secondary transmission in Nigeria.
The patient was diagnosed with the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola virus disease after laboratory tests confirmed the infection on October 20.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said the woman had recently travelled from Uganda to Nigeria, with her symptoms beginning on October 7, four days after her arrival in the country.
She sought treatment at a private health facility in Abuja on October 11 after developing symptoms.
READ ALSO:
According to information from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), she was initially treated for malaria-like symptoms. However, her condition failed to improve, while her travel history subsequently raised suspicion among attending doctors and prompted further investigations.
The Director of Public Health Laboratory Services at the NCDC, Olajumoke Babatunde, confirmed the strain detected in the patient during an emergency incident management meeting in Abuja on Wednesday.
“We did three levels of tests, but all were molecular. The strain was Bundibugyo”, Babatunde said.
Another official at the meeting disclosed that the patient was a diplomat and that her condition had deteriorated into “multi-organ failure”. Her nationality has not been officially disclosed.
Pate had earlier confirmed that the patient was in isolation and receiving medical care, while health authorities intensified contact tracing and other containment measures.
The identification and restriction of the 46 contacts are part of the broader response being coordinated by the health authorities to prevent the virus from spreading beyond the initial case.
Airport Surveillance Intensified
Beyond the no-fly directive, Keyamo ordered the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to intensify Ebola response and surveillance measures across all international airports.
He said measures already being implemented by FAAN include enhanced health screening, temperature checks, tracking of passengers’ travel histories, digital health declarations and strict inter-agency coordination with the NCDC.
The measures are intended to strengthen early detection and ensure that passengers who may have been exposed to Ebola are identified promptly.
Keyamo said the aviation authorities were working closely with the health authorities following the confirmation of the case and regional outbreak alerts.
Felix Ifijeh is a journalist with years of professional reporting experience. Known for his keen news sense, compelling storytelling and commitment to accurate, impactful reporting, he has built a reputation for turning leads into clear, engaging, and well-structured reports that resonate with readers. His work reflects deep newsroom experience and a commitment to accurate, impactful journalism.
