The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) says it has tightened surveillance measures at the country’s entry points following a fresh Ebola outbreak in Uganda.

The Ugandan Ministry of Health confirmed the outbreak of the disease last week with one death and has followed up with 44 contacts.

Though there is no Ebola outbreak in Nigeria, NCDC said in an advisory issued on Sunday that with the outbreak in Uganda, it was working to keep the disease away from the country.

“There are no cases of Ebola virus disease in Nigeria. However, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), in collaboration with relevant Ministries, Departments, Agencies, and Partners through the National Emerging Viral Hemorrhagic Diseases (EVHD) Technical Working Group, continues to monitor disease occurrence and has initiated measures to strengthen our preparedness in the country,” NCDC Director-General, Jide Idris, said.

“These include the update of our EVD emergency contingency plan, heightened surveillance especially at the points of entry, and optimizing diagnostic capacity for EVD testing in designated laboratories in cities with international airports of entry and the National Reference Laboratory. In addition, all Lassa Fever testing laboratories can be activated to scale up testing if the need arises,” he said.

There are no Ebola vaccines in Nigeria at the moment, Idris said. He said there are vaccines and therapeutics available for some strains of the Ebola virus but the approved vaccine for the Zaire species (EBV) “is not currently available in the country but can be obtained from the WHO Afro and does not protect against the Sudan virus”.

“Early recognition, isolation of patients, and initiation of supportive treatment, implementing infection and control measures in health facilities and homes, tracing and monitoring of contacts, and safe burial practices significantly reduce morbidity and the probability of death,” he said.