The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday, October 9, 2015 maintained that there is no Ebola in Nigeria as test result of the man who died at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH) on Wednesday, October 7, 2015 was negative.
Ten people who comprised mainly of workers at the hospital who had contact with the dead man were quarantined as part of precautionary measures.
An email by Cory Couillard, from the WHO African Region, to AFP stated that the “laboratory investigation for EVD (Ebola Virus Disease) and Lassa fever turned out negative.”
Also speaking on the matter, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Mr. Linus Awute, told newsmen in Abuja that the result which came in the early hours of Friday, October 9, 2015 was negative for both Ebola Virus and Lassa Fever virus.
He added that the result of an ongoing test to decipher the cause of the man’s death would be published on Monday, October 12, 2015.
While advising residents to uphold good hygiene to avoid a re-introduction of the virus, Awute reassured that Nigeria is Ebola-free.
According to him, precautionary measures including decontamination of the hospitals, have been put in place by government, while members of the medical team that attended to the deceased have been placed under observation.
He said the Ebola scare “has once again demonstrated that the fight against Ebola must be a perfect team work based on effective collaboration between federal, state governments, partners and the private sector.”
WHO officially declared Nigeria Ebola-free last October after it passed weeks without registering any fresh case.
The virus was introduced into the country in July 2014 by a Liberian man named, Patrick Sawyer who later died in Lagos State.
Seven out of nineteen infected people died of the dreaded disease before it was contained.
The Goodluck Jonathan-led administration has been heralded for the proactive efforts and measures taken to curtail the disease in the country shortly after its inception.
Meanwhile, the virus has killed thousands of persons since it’s inception in Africa.
