The World Health Organisation (WHO) has praised Nigeria’s handling of its recent imported Ebola case after all 62 people identified as contacts of the infected patient completed the mandatory 21-day monitoring period without any confirmed secondary infection.
WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, described the development as an encouraging achievement, applauding the Nigerian government, health professionals and emergency responders for containing the situation.
In a statement shared on his X account on Friday, Tedros said the successful completion of the monitoring exercise was an important step in preventing further spread of the Bundibugyo virus disease.
He, however, stressed that the WHO would continue supporting Nigeria and maintaining close surveillance as the country proceeds through the 42-day period required to officially establish that the outbreak has ended.
The Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Jide Idris, also confirmed the development during a briefing on Friday. According to him, the final person on the contact-tracing list completed monitoring and was discharged on November 13.
Idris explained that 13 of the 62 individuals experienced fever or other symptoms during the observation period. However, subsequent tests returned negative results, confirming that none of them contracted the virus.
Despite the positive outcome, the NCDC warned Nigerians against assuming that the outbreak was officially over. The agency said its National Emergency Operations Centre remained activated at Level 3, with surveillance and response activities continuing.
Nigeria’s imported case was confirmed on October 20 after a 42-year-old woman who had travelled from Uganda arrived in Abuja on October 3 through Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. She reportedly developed symptoms four days later and was admitted to a private hospital on October 11.
Health authorities were alerted on October 19, and laboratory investigations confirmed the infection the following day.
The patient was subsequently evacuated to Switzerland on October 26 for specialised medical treatment. She recovered and was discharged from the hospital on November 11.
