WHO declares Nigeria Ebola-free

The World Health Organisation (WHO) yesterday declared Nigeria officially free of the Ebola virus disease after six weeks passed without recording any new case.The declaration by WHO representative, Rui Gama Vaz, in Abuja came 42 days after the last person in possible contact with the virus was taken off observation and three months after the […]

The World Health Organisation (WHO) yesterday declared Nigeria officially free of the Ebola virus disease after six weeks passed without recording any new case.
The declaration by WHO representative, Rui Gama Vaz, in Abuja came 42 days after the last person in possible contact with the virus was taken off observation and three months after the virus was brought into Nigeria by the Liberian American, Patrick Sawyer.
Speaking in Abuja, Rui Gama Vaz who described Nigeria’s Ebola experience as a “spectacular success story,” said the period doubled the 21 days required for observation without recording any new case of Ebola, meaning that the chain of transmission of the virus was broken in Nigeria.
The WHO can declare an Ebola outbreak over if two incubation periods of 21 days pass without new cases. The last case reported in Nigeria was on September 5.
Nigeria praised, cautioned
A Liberian brought the disease to the country in July, but the spread through the country’s 170 million people, the largest population in Africa, has been avoided through swift response after Nigeria declared a national public health emergency.
“The virus is gone for now, the outbreak in Nigeria has been defeated,” Rui Gama Vaz said, adding: “This is a spectacular success story that shows to the world that Ebola can be contained but we must be clear that we have only won a battle, the war will only end when West Africa is also declared free of Ebola.”
Mr Sawyer, the Liberian, later died of the disease, followed by seven Nigerians, including Dr Ameyo Stella Adadevoh, who diagnosed Mr Sawyer and was credited with helping to contain the outbreak at its source.  John Vertefeuille of the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Nigeria had taken the right steps to contain the outbreak.
“Nigeria acted quickly and early and on a large scale,” he told AFP news agency. “They acted aggressively, especially in terms of contact-tracing,” he added.
But Rui Gama Vaz also cautioned that though the battle was won, the Ebola war continues until it is defeated in all countries. He urged Nigeria not to relax vigilance at all entry points to forestall any re-entry of the virus.
It was the first time Ebola hit an urban centre like Lagos, with a population exceeding those of Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, amidst fears of spreading to millions.
Eight of the 19 people infected with the virus in Nigeria died before it was contained. All others were successfully treated without use of experimental drugs. Former Information Minister Labaran Maku called Nigeria’s success against Ebola “heart-warming.”