WHO Declares Nigeria Ebola-free
by VOA News October 20, 2014
The World Health Organization said Nigeria is free from Ebola after 42 days with no new cases reported.
WHO representative Rui Gama said Monday the development is a 'spectacular success story.'
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan issued a statement Monday praising Nigerians who worked to contain the disease.
Jonathan also directed that all anti-Ebola measures in Nigeria remain in effect, including health screenings for people entering the country.
Nigerian health minister Onyebuchi Chukwu attributed the country's success to strong leadership and coordination.
'Under a single leadership, all the contributing partners were molded into a single, almost homogeneous team. This is one factor that we believe may be lacking in the control efforts of other countries,' Chukwu said.
Chukwu added that Nigeria may have won its battle, but the global war on Ebola is not over.
Nigeria had 20 cases of Ebola and eight deaths as part of the worst-ever outbreak of the virus, which has killed more than 4,500 people.
Last week, the WHO also declared Senegal Ebola-free.
Meanwhile, in the U.S. city of Dallas, Texas, officials announced Monday that the 21-day quarantine has been lifted on 43 people who had contact with the state's first Ebola patient, Liberian native Thomas Eric Duncan.
But Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said 120 other people who had contact with one of two other Ebola patients are still being watched for signs of the virus.
Quicker response
Meanwhile, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf called for long-term investment in the health care infrastructure in order to prevent a repeat of the outbreak.
In a Washington Post op-ed, Sirleaf said the international reaction was slow, allowing Ebola to spread in a way that overwhelmed her country's health system.
She said the steps being taken now, such as U.S. soldiers helping set up treatment centers, would not be needed if the health care system were able to quickly and effectively respond at the beginning stages of an outbreak.
Sirleaf cited Uganda as an example where training and resources have enabled doctors to 'recognize symptoms and isolate patients immediately' and also be protected themselves.
Sirleaf said examining ways to prevent future outbreaks is the way to 'properly honor' those who have died.
Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone have been the hardest hit by the outbreak, with more than 9,100 cases of Ebola.
The outbreak has also spread to areas outside of West Africa, including Spain, where authorities say a nurse who contracted Ebola while caring for two infected priests now appears to be free of the disease, and in the United States, which has reported three cases of Ebola.
Guinea blames drivers for Ebola spike
Elsewhere, Guinean authorities blamed a spike in new Ebola cases - in part - on taxi and motorcycle drivers in Coyah, just 50 kilometers from Guinea's capital, Conakry.
Officials accused the drivers of going through the border town of Forecariah to bring in sick people from neighboring Sierra Leone.
The government also said the drivers transport sick people wanting to escape detection by medical personnel out of fear of dying in treatment centers.
Ibrahim Summah, the head of the drivers' union in Coyah, said that is not true.
Summah told VOA the drivers have been at the forefront in the fight against Ebola from the beginning of the outbreak.
He said no drivers have been caught transporting an Ebola patient and, in fact, they refuse any passenger who refuses to wash with detergent before getting into the vehicle.
More suspicion has fallen on motorcycle drivers because it is easier for them to cross the border. But Abubakar Sylla, head of the motorcycle drivers union, said that is unfair.
Sylla said motorcycle drivers take proper passengers to their destination, and while they do transport some people to the hospital, they do not to take them across the border.
He said his drivers also ask passengers to use precautions - including washing with detergent and disinfectants.
More than 800 people have died of Ebola in Guinea since the outbreak began late last year. There are more than 1,000 confirmed cases now - with three new towns reporting their first cases.
Karim Camara contributed to this report from Coyah, Guinea.
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