Lagos intensifies Ebola surveillance at MMIA amid Central, East Africa outbreak

By Oluwafunke Ishola

The Lagos State Government has advocated measures that would reduce interaction between passengers arriving from high-risk countries and other travellers, while maintaining efficient airport operations.

The Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, on Sunday, said the move was critical as the state steps up surveillance and preparedness measures at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) to prevent the transmission of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) into Nigeria.

This, he said, was crucial as concerns grew over the resurgence of the deadly viral infection in parts of Central and East Africa.

The move comes amid heightened vigilance by health authorities following reports of Ebola outbreaks in affected African countries, prompting Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial hub and principal international gateway, to reinforce its biosecurity architecture against potential cross-border transmission.

Leading a high-level delegation on an inspection and preparedness tour of MMIA, Abayomi said Lagos could not afford to be complacent given its position as the country’s busiest entry point and its experience during Nigeria’s historic Ebola outbreak in 2014.

The delegation were the Special Adviser to the Governor on Health, Dr Kemi Ogunyemi; Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr Dayo Lajide.

Other delegates included the Director of Epidemiology, Biosecurity and Global Health, Dr Ismail Abdus-Salam; and senior officials of the Lagos State Public Health Emergency Operations Centre (PHEOC).

The team was received by airport authorities led by the Airport Manager and Regional General Manager, South-West MMIA, Mr Olatokunbo Arewa, alongside officials from Port Health Services, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and other agencies.

During the inspection, both teams reviewed passenger movement systems, disease surveillance mechanisms, infection prevention and control procedures, emergency response plans and opportunities for stronger collaboration between state and federal authorities.

Speaking during the engagement, Abayomi recalled Nigeria’s successful containment of Ebola after the virus was imported into Lagos from Liberia in July 2014, describing the episode as one of the country’s greatest public health achievements.

He noted that the outbreak, which threatened to spiral into a national crisis, was eventually contained through aggressive contact tracing, surveillance and the sacrifice of frontline health workers, including the late Dr Ameyo Adadevoh, whose actions prevented wider transmission.

According to the commissioner, the experience underscored the need for constant vigilance against highly infectious diseases in an increasingly interconnected world.

Abayomi warned that diseases such as Ebola, COVID-19 and Lassa fever continue to pose significant risks because of the volume of international travel and global mobility.

He stressed that the lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic had further strengthened collaboration between Lagos State and federal agencies operating at MMIA, leading to the establishment of one of Nigeria’s most robust passenger surveillance systems.

The commissioner described MMIA as Nigeria’s most important point of entry, handling approximately 70 per cent of international passenger traffic into the country.

Given this strategic position, he said the airport remains the most likely route through which imported infectious diseases could enter Nigeria.

Abayomi explained that the objective of the state’s engagement with airport authorities was not to disrupt travel but to strengthen systems capable of detecting and responding swiftly to potential health threats.

“Our objective is to create a bottleneck for the virus, not for passengers,” he said.

He identified early detection, rapid isolation, safe evacuation of suspected cases and enhanced digital monitoring of travellers arriving from countries of concern as critical priorities.

The Special Adviser to the Governor on Health, Dr Kemi Ogunyemi, emphasised that disease prevention required a coordinated, multi-sectoral approach involving all levels of government and frontline personnel.

She noted that airport workers constituted the first line of defence against imported diseases because they are among the earliest officials to interact with incoming travellers.

“The frontline actually begins here at our ports of entry.

“As passengers arrive, you are among the very first people to interact with them, making your role critical in our disease surveillance and response efforts,” she said.

Ogunyemi conveyed Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s support to airport personnel and described health security as an integral part of national security.

According to her, the threat posed by Ebola deserves the same urgency and attention accorded to other major security challenges confronting the country.

Also speaking, Dr Dayo Lajide, Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Health, commended airport agencies for their collaboration and stressed the importance of protecting frontline personnel who play a crucial role in safeguarding Nigeria’s borders.

She urged airport workers to maintain strict compliance with infection prevention and control protocols, noting that their safety was essential to protecting travellers and the wider population.

Responding, Airport Manager Olatokunbo Arewa reaffirmed MMIA’s commitment to preventing the entry of Ebola into Nigeria.

He disclosed that airport authorities had begun deploying additional preparedness infrastructure, including touchless hand-sanitiser dispensers and temperature-monitoring equipment, while plans were underway to strengthen passenger screening systems.

Arewa said the airport’s partnership with Lagos State, which was significantly strengthened during the COVID-19 pandemic, remains critical to responding to future public health emergencies.

He revealed that authorities were considering dedicated arrival processing channels for travellers arriving from countries considered high-risk, a measure expected to enhance surveillance and facilitate quicker intervention when necessary.

“Ebola is a highly dangerous disease and any suspected case must be isolated quickly and professionally to prevent transmission,” he said.

Providing details of ongoing preparedness efforts, the Head of Port Health Services at MMIA, Dr Lawal Abdullahi, disclosed that the airport reviewed and updated its Public Health Emergency Contingency Plan on March 18, 2026, before the latest Ebola developments in Africa.

According to him, the Airport Public Health Emergency Management Team has already been activated and a comprehensive risk assessment has been conducted to identify countries of concern and guide surveillance measures.

He explained that passenger screening systems were introduced before the activation of the national health declaration platform and that information collected from travellers was routinely shared with Lagos State epidemiology and surveillance teams.

Abdullahi said discussions were ongoing to improve access to passenger surveillance data by state authorities to strengthen monitoring and contact-tracing capabilities where necessary.

Also speaking, the Aeromedical Assessor of NCAA, Dr Abayomi Asunbo, said the Agency had issued directives requiring airlines operating designated international routes to strictly comply with public health regulations before passengers are admitted into Nigeria.

Similarly, the General Manager of Aviation Medical Services at FAAN, Dr Bilkis Ibrahim, disclosed that additional personal protective equipment, public awareness materials, multilingual health advisories and staff training programmes were being deployed to bolster preparedness across the airport system.

The Head of Department, Medical Services, MMIA, Dr Uche Ofoegbu, said airport stakeholders had intensified awareness campaigns and educational programmes to ensure personnel understand their responsibilities regarding disease surveillance, infection prevention, isolation procedures and emergency response.

The inspection tour concluded with a walkthrough of critical airport facilities and screening points, during which state and federal officials reaffirmed their commitment to coordinated preparedness, information sharing and rapid response mechanisms.

NAN reports that the visit forms part of Lagos State’s broader strategy to maintain a robust biosecurity shield against infectious disease threats.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has maintained that there is currently no Ebola case in Lagos or Nigeria.

The agency, however, insists that sustained vigilance, surveillance and collaboration remain essential to preventing the importation and spread of the disease as outbreaks continue to evolve elsewhere on the continent.

The World Health Organisation had warned that the Ebola outbreak linked to the Bundibugyo virus disease in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda continues to evolve rapidly, with increasing case numbers, geographic spread, and ongoing cross-border transmission.

It disclosed that as of May 27, a total of 906 suspected cases and 223 deaths among suspected cases have been reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

WHO added that as of May 29, a total of 134 confirmed cases, including nine in Uganda, with 18 deaths among the confirmed cases, have been reported across both countries.

In addition, WHO said, there is one confirmed case, an individual from the United States of America, who had treated patients in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and is currently receiving care in Germany