No licensed treatment for Ebola strain, says minister

Professor Ali Pate, Nigeria's Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, has stated there is currently no licensed specific treatment or vaccine for the Ebola virus strain responsible for the current outbreak in the country. Speaking to Arise Television, Pate explained that the patient receiving treatment is being given supportive medical care and is currently stable.

He noted that researchers are exploring potential treatments, but the patient's body is also fighting the infection through its immune response. Pate emphasized that while various efforts are underway to test different vaccines and molecules, none of these have been approved yet. The minister also revealed that the infected patient received antibiotics and antiviral medications at different stages of her treatment initially due to the suspicion of a viral illness, which later proved to be Ebola.

He highlighted that the patient's immune response might have contributed to her condition and cautioned that her situation could change as the disease progresses. Pate praised Nigeria's healthcare infrastructure, laboratory capacity, and trained health professionals for identifying and managing the case, emphasizing that the country's public and private health facilities, alongside laboratory services, were instrumental in detecting and providing care to the patient.

He warned Nigerians to follow health authorities' instructions and comply with measures to prevent the spread of the virus. The Ebola outbreak in Nigeria began after a woman who had traveled from Uganda developed symptoms and was admitted to a private hospital in Abuja. This case prompted the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention to activate response measures, including contact tracing, enhanced surveillance, and infection prevention efforts.

As of October 20, 44 contacts had been identified for monitoring, with 33 completing their monitoring period and seven remaining under active follow-up.