The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said Nigeria faces a low risk of an Ebola outbreak compared to some neighbouring West African countries.
Executive Director of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme, Chikwe Ihekweazu, disclosed this on Tuesday during an appearance on Arise Television’s Morning Show.
According to Ihekweazu, Uganda remains the only country outside the Democratic Republic of Congo to have recorded confirmed Ebola cases.
“Uganda is the only country with confirmed Ebola cases outside the Democratic Republic of Congo. Nigeria’s risk is low,” he said
Despite the relatively low risk to Nigeria, Ihekweazu stressed that the outbreak remains a major international health concern requiring coordinated global action.
“This Ebola outbreak is serious and requires an internationally coordinated response. It has already spread to other countries,” he said.
The WHO official noted that the outbreak has reached a level that warranted its classification as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, a designation reserved for events posing significant cross-border public health risks.
“It is only the ninth time in history that an outbreak has been declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern,” he said.
The former Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention boss added that the current outbreak marks only the third time Ebola has met the threshold for such a declaration.
“This is the third time Ebola has met this criterion. There are over 300 confirmed cases spread throughout the DR Congo,” he stated.
The DR Congo is battling a major epidemic of the highly contagious haemorrhagic fever that is suspected to have killed at least 246 people in the country and neighbouring Uganda, according to the African Union’s health agency, Africa CDC.
