No vaccine, specific treatment for Ebola strain in Nigeria — WHO

Public health authorities have confirmed that the first Ebola virus case detected in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) involves the Bundibugyo strain, for which the World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed there is currently no approved vaccine or specific treatment.

Fresh details indicate that the index case identified as a diplomat entered Nigeria on October 3 aboard an Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET333 landing at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

After falling ill, the patient spent several days receiving care at a private hospital before the infection was diagnosed and she was transferred to a designated isolation facility. Medical officials reported that her condition has since deteriorated into "multi-organ failure."

In response to the outbreak, a multi-agency operation involving the Federal Ministry of Health, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), and the FCT Health and Environmental Services Secretariat has commenced extensive contact tracing, identifying 44 close contacts including healthcare personnel, fellow hospital patients, caregivers, and travel contacts. Consequently, the Federal Government has placed health institutions and port health surveillance units nationwide on high alert.

Meanwhile, the Ugandan Ministry of Health has asked Nigeria to provide detailed travel and clinical records of the patient. While preliminary information indicated the woman transited through Uganda in early October after traveling to the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo for business, the Ugandan government stressed that her transit through the country does not establish that she contracted the virus there, adding that Uganda currently has no active Ebola cases.

In the legislative sphere, both the Senate and the House of Representatives have called on the Federal Government to mandate screening for passengers at all international airports and borders, and to release emergency funds to relevant agencies to curb the disease.

Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, has assured the public that Nigeria is actively collaborating with Uganda and leveraging its past epidemic management experience to prevent further transmission.