WHO Explains Why Nigeria Must Wait 42 Days for Ebola All-Clear

For families who have been worried about Ebola in Nigeria, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has a message: the patient may be gone, but the watching is not over. The WHO has explained why Nigeria must complete a 42-day monitoring period before it can be declared free of Ebola, despite the evacuation of the country’s confirmed patient to Switzerland.

The Executive Director of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, said the period was necessary to monitor people who had contact with the patient and confirm that no further transmission had occurred.

Speaking in an interview with ARISE News on Wednesday, he said 53 contacts had been identified and would need to be monitored for 21 days, followed by another 21 days before Nigeria could receive the all-clear.

"What it means still is that we have about 53 people, contacts, individuals with whom that individual had contact over the days that she was ill.

“And now we have to continue to follow each of them for 21 days and then require another 21 days, coming up to 42, in order to declare Nigeria Ebola-free,” he said.

He disclosed that the timeline followed WHO protocols applied to countries dealing with similar incidents.

“These are the standard protocols as defined by the World Health Organisation, where I work, and which we use in every country around the world that has a similar incident,” he added.

Ihekweazu stressed that the absence of active cases did not remove the need for continued surveillance of people who might have been exposed to the virus.

He urged Nigerians to trust the government and relevant health agencies, stressing that the immediate priority was to monitor all identified contacts, detect any further transmission early and respond promptly.

“The key thing now is for every single contact that the patient had to be followed up every single day, that is happening, and to ensure that there’s no further transmission, if there is transmission, to detect it early and respond appropriately,” Ihekweazu said.

The WHO official also said the organisation had not recommended restrictions on political rallies or other public gatherings, adding that its guidance was based on technical assessments rather than political considerations.

“We haven’t advised any restrictions on further gatherings. Our advice is never political. It’s always technical. And we will continue to support the government in this response,” he said.

The clarification followed a statement by the WHO Regional Director for Africa, Mohamed Janabi, who said Nigeria currently had no active Ebola cases after the infected patient and her husband were medically evacuated to Switzerland.

Janabi said the patient had been stabilised by Nigerian medical personnel before her evacuation, while Swiss authorities would take responsibility for her continued treatment and the monitoring of her husband, who was identified as contact number 53.

“The Nigerian medical team successfully managed her through the acute phase of the illness and stabilised her condition,” Janabi said.

He added, “With the evacuation of the patient and her husband, Nigeria currently has no Ebola cases.”

Ihekweazu also clarified that the patient’s evacuation was not prompted by any inability of Nigerian health facilities to manage the disease.

“On Tuesday we saw the medical evacuation of the patient from Nigeria to the country from which the patient came. This wasn’t a response to any deficit in the management capacities in Nigeria,” he said.

According to him, the evacuation was carried out at the request of the patient’s country of origin.

He commended Nigeria’s response, citing the speed of laboratory confirmation and genetic sequencing, as well as the treatment provided to the patient.

“We’ve had excellent case management in Nigeria. Lab confirmation happened very quickly. We had a sequence happen very quickly. So I think appropriate measures have been carried out,” he said.

He expressed confidence that Nigeria could contain the incident with continued cooperation between the government and the WHO, urging the public not to politicise the response.