The minister of Health Onyebuchi Chukwu has confirmed fresh case of Ebola. The total number of infected person has risen to 11.
The figure includes three deaths and eight people who are being treated at a special isolation unit set up in Lagos, a megacity of more than 20 million people, the minister told reporters.
Nigeria has not recorded a case outside Lagos but there were fears that a nurse who was infected in the city may have carried the virus to the key eastern city of Enugu.
The nurse was among those who treated Liberian government employee Patrick Sawyer, who brought Ebola to Lagos on July 20. He died in hospital on July 25.
After contracting the virus, the nurse travelled to Enugu, where she began showing symptoms before being transported back to Lagos for treatment.
Officials on Wednesday said 21 people in Enugu who had contact with the nurse were being monitored.
But Chukwu said Thursday that 15 of those people had been cleared, with only six in Enugu still being watched.
The development is a positive one for health workers in Africa’s most populous country, as a spread of the outbreak beyond Lagos would put significant strain on Nigeria’s weak healthcare system.
The number of people under surveillance for possible infection in Lagos was reduced from 177 to 169 overnight, Chukwu added.
The virus has a maximum incubation of 21 days, so anyone who does not become symptomatic within three weeks of exposure is thought to be safe.
The worst-ever outbreak of Ebola has killed more than 1,000 people since the start of the year in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Nigeria last month became the fourth west African country affected.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization has commended the swift response of the Nigerian government at containing the spread of the deadly disease.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Wednesday commended the Federal Government’s response to the outbreak of the Ebola virus in the country so far.
Country Representative of WHO, Dr Rui Vaz, who made the commendation at a press briefing in Abuja, said the government’s response was a model for other affected countries to copy.
The briefing was on the outcome of the meeting between President Goodluck Jonathan, the 36 state governors and their commissioners of health.
Vaz was flanked by the Ministers of Health and Information, Prof. Onyeabuchi Chukwu and Labaran Maku, the governors of Lagos and Enugu, Babatunde Fashola and Sullivan Chime, at the briefing.
The Director of the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Mr Abdusalami Nasidi, also participated in the briefing.
Vaz noted that President Goodluck Jonathan took the first critical step by declaring the disease a national emergency.
“The president has also been pushing in order to ensure that we have the emergency operation centres in each state with a very clear plan and accountability framework.
“This is to ensure that everybody works together under this plan and to provide the necessary support collectively.
“What I want to emphasise is the leadership from the Federal Government of Nigeria to tackle this epidemic.”
Vaz noted that “the presence and leadership from Mr President calling on all governors and commissioners of health in order to understand the current level is commendable.
“This is in terms of preparation and anything up to response, and to identify the gaps and together overcome those challenges.
“I think this is an important measure for all countries to understand that we need to have a very strong coordination mechanism.”
The WHO official noted that the disease was controllable with adequate awareness, especially at the grassroots level and effective collaboration of all stakeholders under the plan.
Vaz cautioned against any myth about the disease, noting that public misconception contributed significantly to the spread of the virus in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.
“We need to avoid stigmatisation, discrimination problems in terms of barriers and people who are keeping their own bodies afraid of what is going to be done. All of those myths we need to work very closely to correct.”
According to him, the issue of transparency in the management of the disease also came up for discussion at the meeting.
He stressed the need for every case to be reported for quick identification and action.
He said that communities and local leaders had a major role to play in this regard by assisting government to identify suspected cases for urgent action.
