WHO Officials Expected To Declare Nigeria, Senegal Free Of Ebola

Ebola cases in Nigeria and Senegal have been so far limited and the World Health Organization is expected to shortly declare outbreaks in those countries contained. It's been 42 days as of Friday since the single known Ebola case in Senegal was reported and 39 days in Nigeria, where the disease has infected 80 people. Who uses 42 days as a cut-off because that's about twice the maximum incubation period for the Ebola virus. But in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, new cases continue to explode and WHO said its epidemiologists see "no signs that the outbreaks there are coming under control." Recent estimates put fatalities there at about 4,000. An uncontrolled outbreak of Ebola in Nigeria's Lagos had been a worrisome prospect for health officials given its estimated population of 21 million. WHO praised health officials management of the disease in Nigeria, where it said "on a piece of world-class epidemiological detective work," all confirmed cases were linked back to a Liberian air traveler, who introduced the virus into the country in July. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/ebola/14-october-2014/en/