The United Nations has expressed confidence in Nigeria’s capacity to contain its newly confirmed Ebola case, pledging support to prevent further spread of the deadly disease.
UN Secretary-General’s Spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, gave the assurance on Wednesday while responding to questions from the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at the UN Headquarters in New York.
Dujarric said the UN was concerned about the detection of the Ebola Bundibugyo virus in Nigeria, the fifth country to report a case during the current outbreak.
However, he expressed confidence in Nigeria’s health authorities, commending their swift response and extensive contact-tracing efforts following the confirmation.
“We have full confidence in the ability and the capacity of the Nigerian Government’s health authorities to deal with this single case,” he said.
The spokesperson acknowledged that the appearance of the virus in another country raised concerns about its potential spread beyond countries already affected.
“Yeah, I mean, it’s of course concerning that there is a case in a new country,” Dujarric said.
He, however, noted that Nigerian authorities had already undertaken active contact tracing to identify and monitor people potentially exposed to the infected patient.
Asked by NAN whether the UN was worried that the outbreak could spread to additional countries or persist for another year, Dujarric emphasised international cooperation.
He urged countries to comply with international health regulations and collaborate closely with the World Health Organisation (WHO) to contain the outbreak.
“It is also incumbent that countries work together, follow international health regulations, work with the WHO,” he said.
The spokesperson stressed that WHO was established to support countries in confronting precisely such international public health emergencies.
“This is why the WHO was created, to help to deal with these issues, and I know they’re very much on top of it,” he added.
Responding to NAN’s question about assistance being provided to Nigeria, Dujarric reaffirmed the UN’s readiness to support the Federal Government.
“We are, as always, ready to assist the Government of Nigeria in any way possible,” he declared.
He also expressed confidence that WHO officials in Nigeria were maintaining direct contact with national health authorities to coordinate appropriate responses.
The UN assurance followed Nigeria’s confirmation on Tuesday of an imported Ebola Bundibugyo case involving a woman with a recent travel history to Uganda.
According to WHO, the patient developed symptoms on Oct. 7, sought medical attention in Abuja on Oct. 11 and tested positive for the virus on Oct. 20.
The UN health agency said the patient was receiving treatment in isolation, while Nigerian authorities had identified 44 contacts for monitoring and further investigation.
The case comes amid an outbreak that began in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in May and subsequently spread internationally, raising concerns about cross-border transmission.
WHO’s latest situation report recorded 9,637 confirmed infections and 4,646 deaths in the DRC as of Oct. 19, underscoring the seriousness of the regional health emergency.
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