Premium Times reported that senior field epidemiologist Peter Adewuyi urged Nigeria to put local epidemiologists in charge of its Ebola response, saying the country had about 500 epidemiologists.
The outlet said Adewuyi made the remarks during an ARISE TV Morning Show interview on Thursday, Oct. 22. It reported that he estimated Nigeria had about 500 epidemiologists and quoted him as saying, “Nigeria does not need people to come from outside.”
Premium Times also reported that Adewuyi cited a “7-1-7” surveillance performance indicator: detect a suspected case within seven days, report it within one day and respond within seven days. He put detection at about eight to nine days, the outlet said, but did not specify the interval he was measuring.
The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare confirmed one case of Ebola Bundibugyo virus disease in the Federal Capital Territory on Oct. 20. The ministry said the woman had recently arrived on an international flight from Uganda and was receiving care in isolation. Authorities said they had identified 44 close contacts for monitoring as of Oct. 20.
The World Health Organization (WHO) dates the start of the patient’s illness to Oct. 7 and her first reported medical visit in Abuja to Oct. 11; a lab result identifying Bundibugyo virus followed on Oct. 20. Those dates put 13 calendar days between the first symptom and confirmation, and nine between the first reported care visit and confirmation. WHO said the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) activated its incident management system, with WHO and partners supporting investigation, contact tracing and infection control.
Uganda’s Ministry of Health said the woman had traveled to eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo for business and passed through Uganda without symptoms. The ministry said her transit did not establish where she was infected. WHO said the likely infection source and her full travel and exposure history were under investigation.
WHO’s figures for Nigeria’s 2014 Ebola outbreak include 19 laboratory-confirmed cases, one probable case and eight deaths. The agency said Nigeria was declared free of Ebola transmission on Oct. 20, 2014, after 42 days without a new case.
