Nigeria declared free from Ebola virus

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared Nigeria Ebola free after a 42 day period with no new cases elapsed.

“Nigeria is now free of Ebola,” WHO representative Rui Gama Vaz told a news conference in the capital Abuja.“This is a spectacular success story. It shows that Ebola can be contained but we must be clear that we have only won a battle, the war will only end when West Africa is also declared free of Ebola.”

The first case in Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, was imported from Liberia, when a Liberian-American diplomat called Patrick Sawyer collapsed at the main international airport in Lagos on July 20th.

Meanwhile Belgium, which is one of the few countries accepting direct flights from West Africa, has announced it will introduce screening on passengers travelling from Ebola-affected areas from today.

Belgium’s decision to introduce screenings makes it the third EU country to implement the precaution, following the introduction of passenger screenings in Britain and France in the past week.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan will meet his European counterparts in Luxembourg today in an attempt to forge a co-ordinated response to the Ebola crisis.

Speaking on his way into this morning’s meeting, Mr Flanagan said that it was vital that a coordinated EU approach is taken in the fight against Ebola.

“Ebola is the single most serious crisis facing the world today. We’ve had almost 9,000 people contracting the disease, more than 4,500 have already died. It’s important that there be coordinated leadership from the EU on this issue. That is what I hope we can conclude by this afternoon.”

Asked about whether member states would be willing to help countries like Ireland in providing emergency transport and ‘medevac’ facilities, Minister Flanagan said: “It’s absolutely essential that Irish people working in West Africa be fully protected.

“The emphasis is obviously on equipment, vaccines, medical aid. In the event of there being an evacuation it is important that there will be a coordinated approach. And that’s something again we’ll be discussing this afternoon with a view to ensuring that a high degree of protection is available for everybody in the region.”

“I think it’s important that we share, we coordinate. In the circumstances it is unlikely that Ireland will be able to provide all of the answers, and that is why we’re looking for a coordinated approach this afternoon, with a view to ensuring that each and every member state engages in what is a dreadful situation in Africa.”

He said the issue of passenger screening would be discussed. “We don’t have direct flights from the region to Ireland, so obviously the urgency isn’t as it might be, but obviously it is important that there be a degree of protection, a degree of ensuing that the virus doesn’t spread.”

Britain now has passenger screenings at its airports and Eurostar terminals, while France's Charles de Gaulle airport followed suit over the weekend.

Last week EU health ministers meeting in Brussels agreed to increase co-ordination between member states on passenger screening, but concluded it was up to individual countries to decide whether to introduce screening.

While a number of airlines, including British Airways, have suspended flights to the affected areas in west Africa, Brussels Airlines and Royal Air Maroc are still operating direct flights to Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea.

Ministers meeting in Luxembourg today are also due to discuss the threat of Islamic State and the continuing tensions in Ukraine, but the Ebola crisis is expected to top today's Foreign Affairs Council, one of the last to be chaired by outgoing EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.

Ahead of Thursday and Friday's summit of EU leaders in Brussels, British prime minister David Cameron wrote to European Council president Herman Van Rompuy and other prime ministers, urging leaders to agree to an "ambitious package of measures" at the summit. This would include a doubling of EU funds to €1 billion and the mobilisation of at least 2,000 workers to travel to the region, including 1,000 clinical staff, by mid-November.

“If we do not significantly step up our collective response now, the loss of life and damage to the political, economic and social fabric of the region will be substantial and the threat posed to our citizens will also grow,” Mr Cameron wrote.

Belgium now joins Britain, France, the US and Canada who have introduced screening at airports since the outbreak. However, some experts have questioned its effectiveness due to the incubation period of Ebola, which is typically between two and three weeks.

EU foreign ministers today are expected to discuss ways to co-ordinate “medevac” services between member states, to ensure that European medical staff can be evacuated from affected areas if needed. The issue is of particular concern to Ireland, which does not have its own “medevac” aircraft, despite sending medical volunteers to the area.

Discussion is also likely to focus on ways to increase support for affected regions, in a bid to reduce transmission rates and treat affected patients quickly.

“By far the best way of handling this virus is by treating at the point of origin,” said one senior EU source at the weekend. “If handled correctly, there is actually an 80 per cent survival rate for the virus. We must ensure that adequate resources are in place in the affected areas to avoid a wider transmission of the disease.”

Ahead of the meeting, Mr Flanagan noted that Ireland was one of a handful of European countries with embassies in Sierra Leone. “I will be inputting the views of our ambassador regarding the situation on the ground in Sierra Leone and the experience of Minister of State Seán Sherlock who recently visited the region.”