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WHO officially declares Nigeria and Senegal free from the Ebola Virus

by Felix Omondi

WHO officially declares Nigeria and Senegal free from the Ebola Virus

Nigeria has become the second West African country to be declared free from the Ebola Virus after Senegal was also declared Ebola free last Friday. The declaration came from the World Health Organization (WHO).

Nigeria has been declared free from the virus after having no reported cases of the dreaded Ebola virus in six weeks. A WHO representative, Rui Gama Vaz, while in Abuja, said the Nigerian case is a “spectacular success story.”

Nigeria has received a lot of praises after health officials took swift measures to contain the first reported case of Ebola after a Liberian diplomat imported the virus into the country in July.

The 2014 Ebola outbreak has so far claimed more than 4,500 lives in West Africa, with the worst hit countries being Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. It is estimated that up to 70% of those infected succumbed to the disease.

The EU foreign ministers are said to hold a meeting in Luxembourg to discuss how they will increase their response to the West Africa Ebola outbreak. As cited by BBC, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said that the meeting will appoint a co-ordinator to galvanize EU’s response to the Ebola outbreak.

My colleagues are unanimous in saying that this idea of a European co-ordinator for the fight against Ebola is a good idea. The name will be chosen in the coming days. I think it’s a very important step.”

The European countries have so far committed over 500m euros ($600m) in the fight against Ebola, and the UK is still working on doubling that amount. These funds are expected to boost the already over-stretched healthcare systems in the affected West African countries, as well as to cushion the damage the Ebola outbreak is having on their economies.

Related: Nigerian band denied entry into Music Festival in Dominica.

Quick facts on Ebola:

  1. Never come into direct contact with an Ebola patient; the virus is spread through body fluids.
  2. Ensure you have goggles on to protect your eyes.
  3. All used medical clothing and wastes should be properly incinerated, and if medical equipment have to be reused, it should be properly decontaminated.
  4. Patients who have fully recovered from the Ebola infection should avoid having sex or use protection for the next three months.

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