Research on Containment of Ebola – Steps to Prevent Spread of Emerging Infectious Diseases: The Nigeria Example

Emerging infectious diseases are diseases whose incidence in humans have increased in the past
decades or threaten to increase in the near future. The epidemiological and Laboratory techniques
needed to detect, investigate and contain a deliberate outbreak are the same as those used for
natural outbreaks. The threat to Nigeria posed by the arrival in Lagos of a patient acutely ill with Ebola
was potentially enormous. Six response teams were deployed within the Emergency Operations
Centre; 1) Epidemiology/ Surveillance, 2) Case Management/ Infection Control, 3) Social mobilization,
4) Laboratory Services, 5) Point of Entry and 6) Management / Coordination. The strategy group
reviewed and approved all of the teams work and needed resources. Eleven patients with laboratory
confirmed Ebola were admitted and discharged, an additional patient was diagnosed at convalescent
stage while eight patients died.