Ebola: 2 Nigerians Confirmed Positive In Sierra Leone – Minister

The minister of state for health, Dr Khaliru Alhassan, has disclosed that health officials in Sierra Leone have officially informed the ministry that two Nigerians resident in Freetown have been diagnosed with Ebola Virus Disease (EVD).
He said that one of the Nigerians is a 27-year-old indigene of Abia State, while the other is a 22-year-old indigene of Edo State.
The minister, who made this disclosure in Uyo, Akwa Ibom, when he briefed the press on EVD at the just-concluded National Council on Health Meeting, said that details of the two cases will be made available when full investigation of their status is concluded.
He stressed that from the information available to the ministry, both Nigerians received treatment in isolation centres in Freetown, Sierra Leone, adding that one of them has been successfully treated and is technically cured, and has returned to Nigeria.
Dr Alhassan said although the nation’s borders will continue to remain open for the free movement of people and goods within the region, government will continue to strengthen and sustain proactive vigilance and surveillance at all its borders – air, sea and land.
Against this backdrop, the minister appealed to the countries already infected to strengthen their surveillance and quarantine network to minimise escape from such networks by people already put under surveillance to other non-infected countries.
He noted that the recent declaration of Nigeria as an Ebola-free nation on Monday, the 20th of October, 2014 connotes that Nigeria’s strategies to fight the outbreak had worked and that Nigeria is now not to be listed among countries infected by the deadly virus any longer, adding that henceforth, no country will stigmatise any Nigerian as someone coming to contaminate their people.
He ascribed Nigeria’s success in containing the Ebola disease to responsive governance driven by appropriate political will, a clear leadership role, and strong multi-sectoral teamwork.
The minister informed the journalists that Nigeria has already mobilised and trained over 600 health workers as volunteers to support the containment effort in affected countries within the West African sub-region under the leadership of ECOWAS.
He noted that Nigeria’s president had donated $3.5million towards the Ebola scourge in the sub-region.
He also disclosed that at the request of the government of Sierra Leone, Nigeria made a donation of drugs and supplies to the tune of N50million.