Two people investigated for suspected Ebola disease in Yola, Adamawa State, tested negative after two rounds of laboratory testing, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement dated October 31.
The agency said the alert reached Adamawa’s Public Health Emergency Operations Centre on October 30. The individuals were isolated and samples collected. At the time of the statement, NCDC said Adamawa had no laboratory-confirmed Ebola case and the previously identified FCT case remained Nigeria’s only confirmed case.
Contacts had different follow-up dates
NCDC’s separate October 31 situation report recorded 62 contacts linked to the confirmed case. Their expected monitoring completion dates ranged from October 31 to November 13.
As of October 31, the situation report recorded no contacts who had tested positive. It also said contact tracing and monitoring were continuing, making November 13 a projected endpoint for the identified contacts’ follow-up, rather than a deadline for ending the response.
Negative tests are not an outbreak all-clear
The Adamawa results do not establish that the wider response has ended. Being listed as a contact also does not mean a person has Ebola.
In its October 25 response briefing, NCDC explained that contacts are assessed and followed for 21 days from their last possible exposure, and that the number identified may change as investigations progress.
The figures in this report reflect NCDC’s October 31 publications. IDNN has not verified a newer situation report establishing the case total or the number still under monitoring as of November 3.