Nigeria currently has no active Ebola case following the evacuation of its only confirmed patient to Switzerland, the World Health Organisation says, but 52 contacts will remain under monitoring in Nigeria.
WHO Regional Director for Africa Mohamed Janabi said on Monday, October 26, that Switzerland would take responsibility for the patient’s continued care and follow up her husband, who was listed as contact number 53.
Janabi said the patient was clinically stable after Nigerian medical teams managed the acute phase of her illness. Both she and her husband are Swiss citizens, and the evacuation took place earlier on Monday.
The change in where the patient is receiving treatment does not end the contact-tracing response. Janabi stressed that vigilance remained critical and that Nigeria would continue close follow-up of the other 52 contacts.
Health minister Muhammad Ali Pate had confirmed the departure from Abuja, saying the patient had improved and that her husband remained without symptoms. He cautioned that clinical improvement did not mean she was no longer infectious and said strict protocols remained in place.
NaijaTrend reported Pate’s confirmation of the evacuation here. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention had identified 53 primary contacts, including people associated with the treatment facility and others outside it.
Sources: Premium Times, Vanguard, Daily Trust
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