‘Nigeria Is Free From Ebola’- WHO

“Today, October 20, Nigeria reached that 42-day mark and is now considered free of Ebola transmission,” WHO noted in a statement, in which it also commended the Federal Government’s strong leadership and effective coordination of the response that included the rapid establishment of an Emergency Operations Centre.
The Ebola virus was introduced into Nigeria on July 20, 2014, when an infected Liberian, (Patrick Sawyer) arrived Lagos aboard an Asky Air flight and died in hospital five days later, setting off a chain of transmissions that infected a total of 20 people, of which eight died.According to WHO recommendations, the end of an Ebola virus disease outbreak in a country can be declared once 42 days have passed and no new cases have been detected.

The 42 days represents twice the maximum incubation period for Ebola (21 days). This 42-day period starts from the last day that any person in the country had contact with a confirmed or probable Ebola case.When the first Ebola case was confirmed in July, health officials immediately repurposed technologies and infrastructure from WHO and other partners to help find cases and track potential chains of transmission of Ebola virus disease.

WHO, United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), or Doctors Without Borders, UNICEF and other partners supported the Nigerian Government with expertise for outbreak investigation, risk assessment, contact tracing and clinical care.

The body noted that strong public awareness campaigns, teamed with early engagement of traditional, religious and community leaders, also played a key role in successful containment of this outbreak.

Speaking in Abuja, WHO representative, Rui Gama Vaz, who urged other countries to learn from Nigeria said an aggressive government response and effective contact tracing helped keep the virus in check in Nigeria