by Kolapo Olapoju

Senegal will be declared free of the Ebola virus disease on Friday 17 October, while Nigeria, having passed the requisite 42 days, with no new cases detected from the active surveillance in place, will be announced to be totally in the clear on Monday 20 October. This is according to the World Health Organisation.

The WHO stated on its website that the tracing of people known to have contact with an Ebola patient reached 100% in Lagos and 98% in Port Harcourt.

“In a piece of world-class epidemiological detective work, all confirmed cases in Nigeria were eventually linked back to the Liberian air traveller who introduced the virus into the country on 20 July”, it wrote.

While Nigeria and Senegal have seemingly see the end of the outbreak of the disease in their respective countries, three other West African nations are still grappling with the virus. The WHO wrote that their are no signs of the spread of the Ebola virus disease abating any time soon in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

The report stated, “In Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, new cases continue to explode in areas that looked like they were coming under control. An unusual characteristic of this epidemic is a persistent cyclical pattern of gradual dips in the number of new cases, followed by sudden flare-ups. WHO epidemiologists see no signs that the outbreaks in any of these 3 countries are coming under control.”

Kolapo Olapoju