Ebola Situation In Nigeria And Guinea Encouraging

The World Health Organisation (WHO) said the situation on the Ebola Virus Disease in Nigeria and Guinea is showing some encouraging signs. The WHO, in a statement on Wednesday and copied to the Ghana News Agency said the outbreak of Ebola virus disease in West Africa continues to evolve, with cases confirmed in Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone. It said at present, no cases have been confirmed anywhere else in the world outside the four countries. According to the WHO, the situation in Lagos, Nigeria, where the first imported case was detected in July, looks reassuring. It said at present, the city�s 12 confirmed cases are all part of a single chain of transmission, explaining that those infected by the initial case include medical staff involved in his treatment, a patient in the same hospital, and a protocol officer in very close contact with the patient. The statement said the initial patient was vomiting frequently during travel and upon arrival, declaring that no one on the same flight was infected. It said: �The full recovery to date of one infected contact is additional good news. It counters the widespread perception that infection with the Ebola virus is invariably a death sentence. Evidence suggests that early detection and supportive therapy increase the prospects of survival.� �Intensive contact tracing, conducted by Nigerian health officials and staff from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has not, so far, identified any further confirmed cases outside the initial transmission chain." The statement observed that the index case arrived in Lagos on July 20 and died on July 25, the 21-day incubation period has lapsed and all 12 cases were confirmed in a WHO-approved laboratory. �The intensity of the search and monitoring effort raises cautious optimism that further spread of the virus in Nigeria can be stopped. The search for additional cases continues, as does the current high level of vigilance,� it said. On the outbreak in Guinea, where the virus made its first appearance in West Africa last December, the statement said its now less alarming than in Liberia and Sierra Leone, adding that, public awareness of the facts about Ebola is higher there than in the other affected countries. The statement said innovative solutions are being found, such as, respected community leaders being used to secure the cooperation of 26 villages that were highly resistant to outside help. �The opening of these villages has resulted in a surge of reported cases. These are cases that were previously concealed; their reporting should not be interpreted as a sudden upsurge in Guinea�s outbreak,� the statement said. �However, the outbreak is not under control. As recent experience shows, progress is fragile, with a real risk that the outbreak could experience another flare-up. A case in a previously unaffected area was reported last week, indicating continuing spread to new areas.�