Nigeria must maintain surveillance for another 42 days before it can be officially declared free of Ebola, even though the infected patient has been evacuated to Switzerland, the World Health Organisation has said.
Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, who heads the WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme, said the country’s next priority was to ensure that everyone who came into contact with the patient was monitored for signs of infection.
He disclosed this during an interview with ARISE NEWS on Wednesday, explaining that the 53 identified contacts would undergo 21 days of monitoring, followed by another 21-day period before the country could receive the Ebola-free declaration.
“What it means still is that we have about 53 people, contacts, individuals with whom that individual had contact over the days that she was ill. And now we have to continue to follow each of them for 21 days and then require another 21 days, coming up to 42, in order to declare Nigeria Ebola-free.
“These are the standard protocols as defined by the World Health Organisation, where I work, and which we use in every country around the world that has a similar incident.”
The clarification comes after the WHO’s Regional Director for Africa, Mohamed Janabi, announced that Nigeria had no active Ebola cases following the evacuation of the infected woman and her husband to Switzerland.
Janabi said Nigerian health workers had stabilised the patient before her transfer, while Swiss authorities would continue her treatment and monitor her husband, who was listed as the 53rd contact.
“The Nigerian medical team successfully managed her through the acute phase of the illness and stabilised her condition,” he said.
He added, “With the evacuation of the patient and her husband, Nigeria currently has no Ebola cases.”
Although the evacuation has left Nigeria without an active case, 52 contacts remain in the country and are being monitored by local health officials.
Ihekweazu also dismissed suggestions that the patient’s transfer abroad reflected weaknesses in Nigeria’s medical response, saying the decision was made at the request of her country of origin.
“On Tuesday we saw the medical evacuation of the patient from Nigeria to the country from which the patient came. This wasn’t a response to any deficit in the management capacities in Nigeria.
“This was at the request of the country of origin of the case. She was medically evacuated yesterday, as we all saw.”
He noted that Ebola requires swift intervention whenever a case is confirmed because of the seriousness of the disease and its potential to spread.
“For certain diseases, a group of diseases we call the viral haemorrhagic fevers, of which Ebola is one of them, we consider every single case an equivalent of an outbreak and requiring a coordinated response.
“So, in this case, that’s exactly why we raised the alarm, supported the government to do what it needed to do to respond.”
The WHO official commended Nigerian authorities for their response, particularly the speed at which the infection was confirmed through laboratory testing and sequencing, as well as the medical care provided to the patient.
“On the response in the country, you know, I think we’ve advised the country to have appropriate response measures to this, and they have carried this out more or less to the letter. We’ve had excellent case management in Nigeria.
“Lab confirmation happened very quickly. We had a sequence happen very quickly. So I think appropriate measures have been carried out.
“Nigeria’s going to be proud of the response so far.”
WHO gives position on rallies, public gatherings
Ihekweazu said the organisation had not recommended suspending political rallies or other public gatherings in response to the case.
“We haven’t advised any restrictions on further gatherings. Our advice is never political.
“It’s always technical. And we will continue to support the government in this response.”
He said health authorities would continue checking identified contacts every day to detect any new infection promptly and prevent further spread.
“The key thing now is for every single contact that the patient had to be followed up every single day, that is happening, and to ensure that there’s no further transmission, if there is transmission, to detect it early and respond appropriately,” he said.
The WHO official urged Nigerians to support the public health response and rely on information from relevant authorities rather than politicising the situation.
“So for now, I think the key thing is to keep this as a technical response, trust the government, trust these agencies. They are being supported by the World Health Organization in all ramifications of the response.
“And I’m confident that we can support the government to get this under control and not politicise this event at all.”
Nigeria’s official Ebola-free status will depend on the outcome of the monitoring exercise and confirmation that no further transmission has occurred during the required period.
