WHO commends Nigeria as all 62 Ebola contacts test negative after 21 days

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has commended Nigeria after all 62 contacts of its Ebola patient completed 21 days of monitoring without testing positive, Peoples Gazette reports.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Friday that no secondary transmission had been detected among contacts of the case reported on October 20.

“My congratulations to the government, health workers and responders for their success in preventing the spread of the Bundibugyo virus,” he said.

Nigeria has entered the second half of the 42-day period without a new case required before a country can be declared Ebola-free, and could achieve it by December 7 if no new case emerges.

“As the second half of the 42-day countdown begins, @WHO maintains its support and heightened vigilance,” Tedros added.

The patient, a 42-year-old Ugandan-born woman, fell ill after returning from Uganda and was confirmed on October 20 as Nigeria’s first Ebola case in more than a decade. She was evacuated to Switzerland on October 26.