#Ebola: The virus can be stopped in Nigeria – World Health Organisation

by Kolapo Olapoju

The World Health Organisation, says the Ebola situation in Nigeria looks reassuring and the spread of the virus can be stopped.

The vote of confidence stems from the fact that all the 12 people confirmed in the city are all part of a single chain of transmission, started by Liberian/America, Patrick Sawyer.

Sawyer, the index case arrived in Lagos on 20 July and died on 25 July, and those who got infected from him include the medical staff involved in his treatment, a patient in the same hospital, and a protocol officer who came in close contact with him.

WHO says, although he was vomiting frequently during travel and upon arrival, no one else on the flight was infected.

According the Organisation’s report, there is cause to be optimistic. “The full recovery to date of one infected contact is additional good news. It counters the widespread perception that infection with the Ebola virus is invariably a death sentence. Evidence suggests that early detection and supportive therapy increase the prospects of survival.”

“Intensive contact tracing, conducted by Nigerian health officials and staff from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has not, so far, identified any further confirmed cases outside the initial transmission chain,” it further stated.

While the report commended the efforts of the health ministry, it also added that there needs to be continous vigilance. “The intensity of the search and monitoring effort raises cautious optimism that further spread of the virus in Nigeria can be stopped. The search for additional cases continues, as does the current high level of vigilance.”

A nurse, Obi Justina Ejelonu and Dr.Ameyo Stella Adedavoh of First Consultants Hospital, Obalende, Lagos, are two of the disclosed primary contacts of the index case in Nigeria, who have died from the deadly virus.

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