The World Health Organisation (WHO) has commended the Federal Government, health workers and emergency responders for containing the spread of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola virus disease in Nigeria, following the successful completion of a 21-day monitoring exercise involving 62 identified contacts.
WHO Director-General, Tedros Ghebreyesus, gave the commendation on Friday, saying none of the 62 people linked to Nigeria’s imported Ebola case developed the infection during the monitoring period.
In a statement posted on his X handle, Tedros described the development as a significant milestone in Nigeria’s response to the disease.
“A positive milestone in Nigeria’s Ebola response: all 62 identified contacts of the case reported on 20 October have completed 21 days of monitoring, with no secondary transmission detected,” he said.
He congratulated the Nigerian government, health workers and responders for preventing further transmission of the virus, while assuring that the WHO would sustain its support and heightened surveillance.
The development followed an announcement by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) that the last person among the 62 identified contacts completed the mandatory monitoring period and was discharged on November 13.
The NCDC Director-General, Dr Jide Idris, said 13 of the contacts had reported fever or other non-specific symptoms during the monitoring period but all tested negative for the virus.
He explained that the outcome meant there had been no secondary transmission from the index patient, whose infection was confirmed on October 20, 2026.
The agency also disclosed that seven suspected Ebola alerts reported across Adamawa, Rivers, Borno, Lagos and Ekiti states in the preceding three weeks were investigated, with all seven testing negative.
The index patient, a Swiss woman who had travelled to Uganda before returning to Nigeria, developed symptoms on October 7 and was admitted to a private health facility on October 11.
The NCDC was notified of the suspected infection on October 19, while laboratory tests confirmed the Bundibugyo virus disease the following day.
She was subsequently evacuated to Switzerland on October 26 for further medical treatment and was discharged from hospital in Geneva on November 11 after recovering.
Despite the successful completion of the contact-monitoring exercise, the NCDC cautioned that the development did not mean Nigeria had officially been declared free of the outbreak.
Under WHO protocols, a country must complete a 42-day countdown from the recovery or departure of its last confirmed patient before an outbreak can be officially declared over.
The NCDC said it would therefore sustain surveillance, preparedness and other public health measures to prevent further transmission and promptly detect any suspected infection.
