Abuja 31st July, 2014 - On 25th July, 2014, Nigeria reported its first imported case of the Ebola virus disease that later died in Lagos. The 40-year old victim, a Liberian and senior ECOWAS Official, was at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos from Monrovia en route Calabar City in Nigeria for the 8th ECOWAS Retreat of Heads of Offices meeting.

Following confirmation of the case, the Minister of Health, Professor C.O Onyebuchi Chukwu immediately held a Press Conference where he declared the country’s Ebola outbreak. He assured the population that the Federal Government had ‘deployed a rapid response team to Lagos to contain the virus with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control coordinating the response in close collaboration with the Lagos State Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization (WHO)’.

WHO had on her part indeed deployed a team of experts to Lagos to work with the Federal and State Government teams in putting in place necessary measures to contain the outbreak. The deployed WHO team comprise of its Regional and Headquarters experts that include an Epidemiologist, a Case Management specialist and IPC specialist. With this assistance, WHO has since made available its guidelines and tools as well as use them to assist in training various categories of health workers on contact tracing, surveillance, laboratory diagnosis, Ebola case management, infection prevention and control and public health education using WHO Standard Operating Procedures, to support the country’s efforts in containing further spread of Ebola virus.

The WHO tools provided also include, job aids, database software and training aids. WHO also provided personal protective equipment (PPE) and thermometers to supplement on those being sourced by the Government. The team remains in Lagos to provide technical guidance and assist in closely monitoring the situation.

The Ebola outbreak in the West African Region remains uncontained with number of cases and deaths still increasing. Thus, all countries in the region remain at risk of importation as has been the case for Nigeria.

 
01 Minister of Health, Professor C.O Onyebuchi Chukwu
02 Training Session for Clinicians by WHO officer
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For Further Information, please contact:

Dr. E.O Musa, Disease Prevention and Control Adviser
Email:  musaem [at] who.int
Mobile: +2348035354870