Yobe activates emergency response over Ebola, assures residents

File photo: Health workers in Ebola kits

The Yobe State Government has activated its public health emergency response system following the confirmation of an imported case of Ebola virus disease in Nigeria, assuring residents that no case has been recorded in the state.

The state government disclosed this on Monday during a press briefing at the State Emergency Operations Centre in Damaturu, the state capital.

The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health and Human Services, Hadiza Sabo, said the emergency measures followed the confirmation of an Ebola case by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention on October 20, 2026.

According to her, the confirmed case involves a diplomat who travelled to Nigeria from Uganda and tested positive for the Bundibugyo strain of the virus.

“The patient is currently in isolation and receiving care, while the NCDC has activated its national Incident Management System,” Sabo said.

She disclosed that, as of October 24, 53 close contacts, including healthcare workers, patients, caregivers and travel-related contacts, had been identified and were being monitored.

She added that 46 exposed persons had been placed on a 21-day no-fly list as a precautionary measure.

Sabo said the NCDC had classified the risk of Ebola importation into Nigeria as high, citing increasing transmission in the region, international travel and porous borders.

However, she noted that there was no evidence of community transmission in the country.

“In line with the national directive and NCDC guidelines, Governor Mai Mala Buni has directed the activation of the Public Health Emergency Incident Management System and the development of a comprehensive Emergency Preparedness and Response plan,” she said.

The permanent secretary said Yobe was among the states that had activated emergency response teams, established isolation facilities and intensified contact tracing to prevent the spread of the disease.

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She explained that the state’s preparedness measures were based on six technical pillars recommended by the NCDC.

According to her, the State Emergency Operations Centre had been placed on high alert, while multi-pillar coordination meetings had been held to assess the situation and strengthen collaboration with the NCDC, the World Health Organisation and UNICEF.

Sabo said disease surveillance had also been intensified across the state’s 17 local government areas, with Disease Surveillance and Notification Officers directed to investigate and verify rumours and alerts promptly.

She added that the contact-tracing system had been strengthened to ensure that identified contacts were monitored for 21 days.

The government, she said, had equipped designated isolation and treatment facilities across the state’s three senatorial zones with medicines and personal protective equipment.

Frontline healthcare workers had also received further training on infection prevention and control, safe sample collection and the clinical management of suspected cases.

Sabo urged residents to maintain proper hygiene, including regular handwashing with soap and water or the use of alcohol-based hand sanitisers.

She also advised the public to avoid direct contact with the blood and bodily fluids of sick persons and to refrain from traditional burial practices involving direct contact with corpses.

The permanent secretary warned against spreading unverified information and urged residents to rely on official updates from the state Ministry of Health and the NCDC.

She further cautioned against stigmatising people identified as contacts, stressing that being listed as a contact did not mean that an individual had contracted Ebola.

“Yobe State has no case of Ebola, but our Incident Management System is fully active and operational to protect the people of the state,” Sabo said.