TheCable

The ministry of health says there is no resurgence of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in the country following reports of a likely outbreak of the disease in Calabar, capital of Cross River state.

At a news conference in Abuja on Friday, Linus Awute, permanent secretary of the ministry, said the country remained Ebola-free.

Awute explained that the case of a suspect who died after exhibiting symptoms of the disease, caused panic at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, where he was receiving treatment.

He said‎ the suspected case was admitted to the hospital at 1am on Wednesday and died seven hours later, forcing the medical workers who attended to him to quarantine themselves.

The health official said the blood samples of the deceased were‎ immediately taken to Edo state for analysis.

“After the tests, it is very clear it has nothing to do with Ebola or Lassa fever,” he said.

“Results confirmed that the deceased was negative of Ebola virus and Lassa fever.

“The ministry of health states that Nigeria remains Ebola free.”

Awute said the nature of the disease was yet to be determined, revealing that those who attended to the victim would remain under observation until the disease is identified.

Thursday’s incident happened at a time when the World Health Organisation (WHO) announced significant progress in the fight to stamp out EVD.

Margaret Harris, WHO press officer, said for the first time since 2014, no new case of the virus had been recorded this week.