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Tuesday, March 19, 2024
March 19, 2024

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CDC: Ebola under control in Senegal and Nigeria

The Columbian
Published:

The Ebola outbreaks in Senegal and Nigeria appear to be under control, with no new cases reported in more than 21 days, according to reports issued Tuesday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

As international health officials scramble to stop the exponential spread of Ebola in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, CDC researchers say quick work by officials and medical personnel in neighboring West African nations appears to have stopped the disease in its tracks.

The incubation period for the Ebola virus is 21 days. If a nation sees no new cases after that period of time, an outbreak is said to be under control, according to Dr. Barbara Knust, a CDC epidemiologist.

If no new cases occur in 42 days, the outbreak is said to be over.

“That’s how the World Health Organization determines that an outbreak is over and that there’s no more human-to-human transmission,” Knust said. “But even then it’s important for all countries to be vigilant, because there’s still ongoing transmission in the heavily affected countries.”

In both Nigeria and Senegal, outbreaks began with a single infected individual importing the virus from the so-called hot zone.

Ultimately, health officials reported 19 cases of Ebola — 18 of which were confirmed — and eight deaths. No new cases have been reported since Aug. 31, authors wrote.

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