The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control has public its Weekly Epidemiological Report for week 20. Excerpt:
IMPROVING NIGERIA’S PREPAREDNESS FOR AN EBOLA OUTBREAK
Since the declaration of the outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Nigeria has continued to improve the level of preparedness in the country. The Emergency Operations Centre at the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) remains on alert mode, closely monitoring the situation in the DRC.
This week, preparedness activities in Nigeria were focused largely on strengthening screening measures at the major ports of entry, as well as capacity building of responders.
The Port Health Services (PHS) of the Federal Ministry of Health which is responsible for the provision of health and related services at the National Ports of Entry (PoE) held a meeting, aimed at increasing awareness among ports of entry stakeholders.
The screening processes for passengers were assessed at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja. Staff at the PoEs were re-trained and mentored on how the appropriate screening processes should be carried out at the airports following the assessment. A training of Trainers was also carried out for PHS State Coordinators and heads of formations on improving surveillance activities.
In the coming week starting on the 4th of June 2018, there will be a training of clinicians and other health workers, who have been identified as first responders in the event of an outbreak of EVD. A major outcome of the training is to build the capacity of a team of first responders who will be ready and prepared to respond to any infectious disease outbreak or public health event.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) is committed to ensuring that all efforts are geared towards improving preparedness for all outbreaks/public health events as part of its mandate to protect the health of Nigerians. For more information on preparedness activities, kindly visit: www.ncdc.gov.ng
SUMMARY OF REPORTS
In the reporting week ending on May 20, 2018:
o There were 164 new cases of Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP) reported. None was confirmed as Polio. The last reported case of Polio in Nigeria was in August 2016. Active case search for AFP is being intensified as Nigeria has reinvigorated its efforts at eradicating Polio.
o 190 suspected cases of Cholera were reported from 11 LGAs in seven States (Adawama – 100, Bauchi – 22, Borno – 20, FCT – 1, Kaduna – 2, Kano – 44 & Zamfara - 1). Of these, 17 were laboratory confirmed and 17 deaths were recorded.
o 11 suspected cases of Lassa fever were reported from ten LGAs in six States (Adamawa – 3, Anambra – 2, Edo – 1, Osun– 1, Plateau – 3 & Taraba - 1). Three were laboratory confirmed and one death was recorded.
o There were 19 suspected cases of Cerebrospinal Meningitis (CSM) reported from 12 LGAs in five States (Borno – 5, Ebonyi – 2, Katsina – 10, Nasarawa – 1 & Yobe – 1). Of these, no was laboratory confirmed and no death was recorded.
o There were 284-suspected cases of Measles reported from 29 States. No laboratory-confirmed and no deaths recorded.
In the reporting week, all States sent in their report except Delta State. Timeliness of reporting remains 89% in both the previous and current weeks (week 19 & 20) while completeness increases from 99% to 100% at the same period. It is very important for all States to ensure timely and complete reporting at all times, especially during an outbreak.
