The Federal Government has placed 21 states across Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on high and moderate risk alert following renewed Ebola outbreaks in parts of Africa, Peak Newspaper reports.
The warning was issued by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) as part of strengthened national preparedness measures against possible importation of the virus.
According to the NCDC, the classification followed a fresh nationwide risk assessment triggered by rising Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. The agency said although Nigeria has not recorded any confirmed case linked to the current outbreak, increased regional transmission has raised concerns over possible cross-border spread.
States categorized as high-risk include Lagos, the FCT, Rivers, Kano, Enugu, Borno, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Taraba, and Adamawa. The NCDC explained that these locations were flagged due to heavy international travel, major airports, active trade routes, and porous border entry points.
Other states placed under moderate risk classification are Ogun, Nasarawa, Kaduna, Plateau, Kogi, Niger, Jigawa, Katsina, Bauchi, Ebonyi, Abia, and Bayelsa. These states, the agency said, require sustained surveillance, stronger health monitoring systems, and improved emergency response readiness.
NCDC Director-General, Jide Idris, warned that Ebola symptoms often resemble malaria and Lassa fever, making early detection more difficult. He also noted that current outbreaks in parts of East and Central Africa have recorded over a thousand suspected cases and hundreds of deaths, with the virus strain involved having no approved vaccine or specific treatment.
The agency urged all state governments to activate emergency response systems, strengthen border and airport screening, and prepare isolation facilities for possible cases. It also stressed the need for immediate reporting of suspected infections, recalling Nigeria’s successful containment of Ebola in 2014 as a model for swift national response.
