Nigeria has ruled out Ebola infection in two suspected cases identified in the North-East, following two rounds of laboratory testing.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) disclosed this on Sunday, saying samples collected from the two individuals returned negative results.
The individuals had been isolated while health authorities carried out contact identification, listing and laboratory investigations.
The development eases concerns over a possible spread of the disease following the confirmation of Nigeria’s first Ebola case in more than a decade last week.
The confirmed case involved a Swiss woman who had travelled from Uganda to Abuja. She and her husband were evacuated to Switzerland on October 26 for medical care.
The woman remains Nigeria’s only confirmed Ebola case, according to the latest update.
The NCDC had announced the two suspected cases in the North-East on Saturday, stressing that their classification as suspected cases did not mean they had tested positive.
The agency urged Nigerians to maintain good hand hygiene, practise enhanced sanitation and follow public health guidance.
The latest development comes amid an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where more than 5,000 people have died since the outbreak was declared in May. Kenya and Uganda have also reported cases.
The outbreak involves the Bundibugyo strain of the virus, for which there are no approved vaccines or treatments.
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