By Divine Sam

The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, has disclosed that there is currently no licensed vaccine or specific treatment for the Ebola virus strain responsible for Nigeria’s latest case.

Pate, who made this known during an interview with Arise Television on Wednesday, said the infected patient was receiving supportive medical care while her immune system continued to fight the infection.

“Specific treatment for this variant of Ebola virus, or a specific vaccine, is not yet licensed, approved to be used,” he said, adding that “there are various efforts to try different types of vaccines or molecules to see whether they can bring relief.”

The minister explained that the patient had received antibiotics and antiviral medication at different stages of her treatment because doctors initially suspected a viral illness before tests confirmed Ebola.

“But this particular patient received appropriate medical care, supportive medical care. She received antibiotics, she received an antiviral medication at different stages because the consideration was she had a viral illness, which in fact ended to be Ebola,” he said.

According to Pate, the patient’s immune response may also have played a role in her condition. He noted that she was stable at the time of the interview but warned that her health status could change as the disease progressed.

“I think we’re very fortunate that she is stable at this moment. We hope she continues to remain stable, because things can change when you have an infectious disease that you don’t fully control the course of illness,” he said.

Pate attributed Nigeria’s ability to detect and manage the case to the country’s healthcare infrastructure, laboratory facilities and trained medical personnel.

He said public health officials, including epidemiologists, were working to identify and monitor people who might have been exposed to the virus.

The minister added that the collaboration between public and private health facilities and laboratory services had helped ensure that the patient was identified and received medical attention within Nigeria’s healthcare system.

“We’ve got laboratory capacity that has all come together to allow the patient to walk through the Nigerian healthcare system, be detected, and be catered for,” he said.

He also emphasised that containing the outbreak would require cooperation between health authorities and members of the public, particularly those identified as contacts of the infected patient.

“But it goes beyond the public health system; it also requires Nigerians themselves in how we behave, so that those who may have contact with her continue to comply,” Pate said.

The Federal Government confirmed Nigeria’s first reported case in the current outbreak after a woman who had travelled from Uganda developed symptoms and was admitted to a private hospital in Abuja. She was subsequently diagnosed with the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola.

Following the confirmation, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention activated emergency response measures, including contact tracing, enhanced disease surveillance and infection prevention activities. Health facilities were also urged to remain vigilant and promptly report suspected cases.

According to reports, 44 contacts were initially identified for monitoring. In Anambra State, authorities had followed up on 40 persons of interest, with 33 completing their monitoring period and seven remaining under active surveillance as of October 20. Ogun State was also tracing 111 persons of interest.

The United States Mission in Nigeria issued a health advisory to its citizens following the reported case, urging anyone who might have been exposed to seek medical advice if symptoms developed.

Ebola is primarily transmitted through direct contact with the blood or other body fluids of an infected person who has developed symptoms, as well as through contaminated materials.

Symptoms may include fever, severe headache, weakness, muscle pain, vomiting and diarrhoea. Because some of these signs can resemble illnesses such as malaria, health authorities have urged Nigerians to seek professional medical attention when symptoms arise and avoid self-medication.