The Ebola virus saga in Nigeria; the view point of a microbiologist

Abstract

The largest Ebola Virus Disease outbreak in history exploded across West Africa. The World Health Organization reported a total of 21,296 Ebola virus disease (EVD) cases, including 13,427 laboratory confirmed EVD cases reported from the three most affected countries Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone in 2014. Nigeria’s first case of EVD was officially announced in July, 2014. In an effort to tackle the Ebola outbreak in Nigeria, the Federal Government, drawing on the experience of the Emergency Operation Centre’s work with polio, declared Ebola a public health emergency and mobilized human, financial and material resources to contain the epidemic. Nigeria was officially declared Ebola free on 20th October 2014. However, the current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has spread internationally from the DRC into neighbouring Uganda and it ranks as the second deadliest outbreak in history. This ongoing epidemic hereby calls for intensified disease monitoring at the Nigerian border posts, health centers and communities, and a prompt review of preparedness activities in the country to prevent another outbreak.