No confirmed Ebola case in Nigeria, says NCDC

There is no confirmed case of Ebola in Nigeria, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has confirmed.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) had already declared Nigeria Ebola-free following the evacuation of the index patient to Switzerland with her husband.

NCDC said rumours claiming the Ebola outbreak could lead to a possible election postponement were not true.

NCDC Director-General, Dr Jide Idris, at a virtual capacity-building workshop for journalists on effective Ebola reporting on Tuesday in Lagos, warned against misinformation that could undermine containment efforts.

Idris said that 54 primary contacts linked to a woman evacuated to Switzerland remained under daily surveillance despite three contacts who developed symptoms last week testing negative for Ebola.

According to him: “The fact that we currently have no confirmed case does not mean we should declare Nigeria Ebola-free.

“We must continue surveillance and ensure that all contacts are properly monitored.’’

He said the index patient improved clinically before departure, adding that her evacuation should not be interpreted as a vote of no confidence in Nigeria’s healthcare system.

Idris said that most of the 54 contacts were quarantined in Abuja, while a few observed self-quarantine at home, adding that surveillance also involved identifying secondary contacts who might have interacted with them.