Nigeria's two suspected Ebola cases have tested negative, RFI reported via AllAfrica. Health authorities in north-eastern Nigeria confirmed the results on Monday after two rounds of testing. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention made the announcement on social media.
The agency said both people were isolated while officials traced and listed their contacts and ran laboratory tests. Nigeria confirmed its first Ebola case in more than a decade on October 23. The patient was a 42-year-old Swiss woman who had travelled to Uganda before returning to Abuja. She and her husband went back to Switzerland on October 26. Her case remains Nigeria's only confirmed infection with the Bundibugyo strain.
The outbreak was declared in DR Congo in May, and more than 5,000 people have died there, according to the report. Kenya has recorded nine cases and two deaths. Most of those infected in Kenya had recently travelled to DR Congo. Uganda had 20 cases and two deaths, and the World Health Organization (WHO) declared it Ebola-free in August.
Central African Republic has tightened checks on its border with DR Congo. The two countries share a porous frontier of more than 1,500 kilometres. At the M'Poko Bac pier near Bangui, health workers check travellers' temperatures and register them. People who depend on the Oubangui river say they are worried. Foxy Yeti Nzapa, a canoe operator, said he ferries passengers between the two countries without any protection. Dr Valentin Nebanga of the Ministry of Health said that preparedness also means keeping the public engaged.
Distrust among parts of the population has slowed the response in DR Congo. According to the WHO, an attack in Bafwasende, Tshopo province, on October 24 killed a nurse and seriously wounded another health worker. A local medical officer told AFP that young people had accused the victims of trying to infect locals. The Ebola treatment centre there has since closed.
Money is another problem. The Daily Nation reported on Tuesday that two-thirds of the funds pledged for the Ebola response have not yet reached response teams. Scientists have also begun testing the Ervebo vaccine, which works against the Zaire strain, to see whether it also protects against Bundibugyo. There are no approved treatments or vaccines for the Bundibugyo strain.