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South Korea will strengthen Ebola screening for travelers from Nigeria beginning Nov. 9 after Nigeria reported an imported case of the disease, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said.
Anyone entering South Korea who has visited or transited through Nigeria during the previous 21 days will be required to report their health status to quarantine officials. Travelers may file the declaration through South Korea’s electronic Q-CODE system or submit a health questionnaire.
South Korean citizens traveling to or staying in Nigeria will receive text messages about Ebola precautions. After returning home, they will be instructed to contact the national disease hotline at 1339 or a local public health center immediately if they develop symptoms such as fever or abdominal pain.
Monitoring During the 21-Day Incubation Period
For 21 days after a traveler returns, medical workers will be able to check the patient’s overseas travel history through South Korea’s drug utilization review and international traveler information systems. The KDCA said those systems will help health care facilities identify and report suspected cases.
Nigeria becomes the 13th African country designated by South Korea as a priority quarantine management area for Ebola, joining the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, South Sudan, Rwanda, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Burundi, Angola, Zambia, Ethiopia and Kenya.
The designation is used for places where a highly fatal and contagious quarantinable disease is spreading or is considered likely to spread, requiring more intensive border health measures.
Nigeria Case Prompts Precautionary Measures
According to Nigerian health authorities, the country’s first confirmed patient traveled by air from Uganda on Oct. 3, connecting through Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The patient developed symptoms on Oct. 7 and was confirmed to have Ebola on Oct. 20 after seeking medical care.
Nigerian authorities had identified and were monitoring 62 contacts as of Oct. 29, including health care workers and people who cared for the patient. Uganda, which declared its outbreak over on Aug. 27 and had reported no additional cases as of Oct. 25, is investigating the patient’s travel and possible exposure.
The World Health Organization is reassessing the regional risk as transmission continues in the Democratic Republic of Congo and imported cases have appeared in Kenya and Nigeria. The WHO cited the unknown source of infection and exposure route, as well as the 13-day delay between the onset of symptoms and confirmation, as reasons for stronger surveillance and further investigation into possible unrecognized exposures or transmission.
Risk to South Korean Public Remains Low
The KDCA maintained South Korea’s overall Ebola risk level at “low” after a rapid assessment on Oct. 26. The agency said an imported case is possible but exposure among the general public is unlikely because Ebola spreads primarily through direct contact with an infected person’s blood or other bodily fluids and tends to spread among close contacts, including relatives and medical workers.
Ebola virus disease is an acute illness that can cause fever and bleeding. South Korean health authorities said the country’s response systems are prepared but described the expanded screening as a precaution because international air travel creates opportunities for imported infections and possible secondary transmission.
KDCA Commissioner Lim Seung-kwan urged people visiting Nigeria or other designated countries to follow prevention guidance and immediately contact 1339 or a public health center if symptoms develop after entering South Korea.
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