The patient was airlifted to Switzerland by medical air ambulance on Monday, October 26, for further treatment, alongside her husband.
Following the evacuation, WHO Regional Director for Africa, Mohamed Janabi, said Nigeria currently had no Ebola cases. However, some media platforms interpreted the statement as confirmation that the country had been declared Ebola-free.
In a post on X on Monday, October 26, the WHO dismissed the interpretation as inaccurate and misleading.
“WHO has not declared Nigeria Ebola-free. Nigeria currently has no confirmed case of Ebola following the medical evacuation of the index patient to Switzerland,” the organisation stated.
The WHO stressed that the absence of active confirmed cases does not constitute an official declaration that an outbreak has ended. It added that health authorities were monitoring 52 contacts who may have been exposed to the virus.
According to the organisation, a country can be declared Ebola-free after 42 days have passed since the last confirmed patient tests negative for the virus twice. The 42-day countdown also applies to Nigeria following the evacuation of the index patient.
The period is followed by heightened surveillance to detect any potential new infections.
The WHO also called on the media organisation responsible for publishing the Ebola-free headline to retract and correct it, describing the report as a misinterpretation of the regional director’s earlier statement.
