Nigeria: Fresh Ebola Threat - Lagos Tightens Mmia Surveillance to Block Imported Cases

The Lagos State Government has intensified surveillance and emergency preparedness measures at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, even as it moved to prevent the importation of Ebola Virus Disease, EVD, into Nigeria following renewed outbreaks in parts of East and Central Africa.

Leading a high-powered preparedness inspection and facility assessment at the country"s busiest international gateway, the Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, warned that MMIA remains Nigeria's most vulnerable entry point for imported infectious diseases because it handles about 70 per cent of international passenger traffic into the country.

Abayomi said Lagos was strengthening systems for early detection, rapid isolation and emergency evacuation of suspected Ebola cases, while also improving digital surveillance and passenger monitoring for travellers arriving from countries classified as high-risk.

His words: "The primary purpose of our visit is to understand how we can support your efforts, identify existing gaps and jointly develop practical solutions. Our objective is to create a bottleneck for the virus, not for passengers."

Recallin Nigeria's successful containment of Ebola in 2014 after the virus was imported into Lagos from Liberia, Abayomi said the outbreak remains one of the most important public health lessons in the nation's history.

"Almost eleven years ago, we experienced the importation of Ebola into Lagos from Liberia during the largest Ebola outbreak in recorded history. We were able to contain what became a relatively small outbreak in Lagos, thanks to the sacrifices of dedicated healthcare workers, including the late Dr. Ameyo Adadevoh," he said.

According to him, the painful memories of the 2014 outbreak continue to remind health authorities that preparedness must remain constant in an era of increasing global travel and interconnectedness.

He added that lessons learnt during the COVID-19 pandemic further reinforced the need for close collaboration between Lagos State and federal agencies operating at the airport, noting that the partnership helped establish one of the country's strongest passenger surveillance systems.

The inspection tour brought together officials from the Lagos State Ministry of Health, the Lagos State Public Health Emergency Operations Centre, Port Health Services, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, and the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA.

Also speaking during the visit, the Special Adviser to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Health, Dr. Kemi Ogunyemi, described airport per