Nigeria currently has no confirmed case of Ebola following the medical evacuation of the index patient to Switzerland, but the World Health Organisation, WHO, says the country has not yet been declared Ebola-free.
The WHO Nigeria office disclosed this on Monday in a post on its official X handle, stating that health officials were monitoring 52 people who might have been exposed to the virus.
The organisation explained that, under the International Health Regulations, a country can only be declared Ebola-free after a 42-day countdown following the last confirmed case testing negative twice for the virus or, in the present situation, the evacuation of the confirmed patient.
It added that the countdown would be followed by a period of heightened surveillance.
The clarification came hours after reports circulated that Nigeria had been declared Ebola-free.
Orange FM earlier reported that the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, confirmed on Monday that the patient and her spouse had been evacuated to Switzerland by air ambulance.
Pate said the patient’s condition had improved and she was stable, conscious and communicating before the evacuation. He, however, cautioned that clinical improvement did not necessarily mean she was no longer infectious.
The WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Mohamed Janabi, commended the Nigerian medical team for managing the patient through the acute phase of the illness and stabilising her condition before the evacuation.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention had earlier announced that 53 contacts linked to the case had been identified and followed up. They included health workers, domestic staff and the patient’s husband.
The WHO says monitoring and surveillance remain critical as Nigeria continues its response to the Ebola case.
