Abuja, May 29 (IANS) Nigerian public health authorities have identified 21 of the country’s 36 states as being at high or moderate risk of Ebola importation, amid growing concerns over cross-border transmission.

In a statement issued by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) said that recent Ebola outbreaks in parts of East and Central Africa had increased the risk of the disease being imported into Nigeria, although no confirmed case has yet been recorded in the country.

The NCDC classified the capital city Abuja, the southern states of Lagos, Rivers, Enugu, Akwa Ibom and Cross River, as well as the northern states of Kano, Borno, Taraba and Adamawa, as high-risk areas because of active travel and trade routes linked to international airports and porous land borders, Xinhua news agency reported.

The agency also listed Ogun, Ebonyi, Abia and Bayelsa states in the south, along with Nasarawa, Kaduna, Plateau, Niger, Jigawa, Katsina and Bauchi states in the north, as moderate-risk areas requiring enhanced surveillance and preparedness measures.

Jide Idris, Director General of the NCDC, said the World Health Organisation (WHO)’s declaration of the Ebola outbreak as a “public health emergency of international concern” underscored the need for Nigeria to strengthen preparedness efforts.

He warned that Ebola symptoms closely resemble those of malaria and Lassa fever, increasing the risk of delayed detection and further transmission.

With a population of more than 242 million, Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country and the world’s sixth most populous nation.

Meanwhile, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the Ebola outbreak in Congo was “very complex”, with conflict, insecurity, displacement, food shortages and community mistrust complicating efforts to contain the disease.

Speaking to reporters on late Thursday at the airport upon arriving in the Congolese capital of Kinshasa, Ghebreyesus noted that he had come to show affected communities that “they are not alone” and that the WHO was there to support the response.

–IANS

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