The Medical and Dental Consultants’ Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) has urged the Federal and state governments to activate emergency operations centres and infectious disease isolation centres nationwide following the diagnosis of an Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) case in Nigeria.
The association called for increased surveillance contact tracing laboratory testing and cross-border collaboration to contain the outbreak and prevent further transmission.
In a statement issued on Thursday October 22 MDCAN said Nigeria must draw on lessons from the 2014 Ebola outbreak to strengthen its response warning that the country’s large population high mobility and fragile health system could complicate containment efforts.
The statement was signed by the association’s Publicity Secretary Dr Taiwo Alatishe on behalf of its President Prof. Apollos Chidi Ndukuba.
MDCAN said the government should strengthen screening and surveillance at airports seaports and land borders while ensuring that healthcare facilities have adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) diagnostic tools running water and other essential supplies.
It also called for the training and retraining of frontline health workers in infection prevention and control as well as improved welfare hazard allowances and insurance cover for healthcare providers.
The association expressed confidence in the Federal Government the Federal Ministry of Health the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) and other relevant agencies to contain the outbreak.
It urged medical and dental consultants to maintain a high index of suspicion for patients presenting with fever severe headache vomiting diarrhoea unexplained bleeding or a history of contact with suspected cases.
MDCAN warned healthcare workers against attending to suspected Ebola patients without adequate protective equipment and advised hospitals to enforce strict hand hygiene proper triage and other standard infection prevention measures.
It also urged hospital managers to reactivate infection prevention and control committees conduct emergency drills and ensure that isolation areas were ready to receive suspected cases.
‘Prompt notification and reporting of suspected cases to State Epidemiologists and NCDC in line with IDSR guidelines is integral to containment’ the association said warning hospitals against managing suspected cases in open wards.
The association called on the public to avoid contact with the blood and body fluids of symptomatic persons practise regular handwashing with soap and avoid bushmeat.
It also advised Nigerians not to conceal symptoms or keep sick relatives at home but to report suspected cases promptly to health authorities.
MDCAN urged the public to rely on information from the NCDC the Federal Ministry of Health and the World Health Organisation (WHO) warning that misinformation on social media could undermine containment efforts.
The association further cautioned against stigmatising patients their relatives healthcare workers and health facilities involved in treating Ebola cases noting that discrimination could discourage people from seeking timely medical attention.
It said cooperation with health officials during contact tracing and early access to supportive care would be critical to improving survival and containing the outbreak.
Ebola is a severe viral disease that can cause serious illness and death. MDCAN said reported case fatality rates range from 25 to 90 per cent depending on the outbreak and other factors.
The association maintained that Nigeria had successfully contained Ebola in 2014 and could do so again through coordinated government action a prepared health workforce and public cooperation.