The United Nations has expressed confidence in Nigeria’s capacity to contain its newly confirmed Ebola case, pledging support to prevent further spread of the deadly disease.

UN secretary-general’s spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric gave the assurance on Wednesday while fielding questions at UN Headquarters in New York.

Mr Dujarric said the UN was concerned about the detection of the Ebola Bundibugyo virus in Nigeria, the fifth country to report a case during the current outbreak. 

However, he expressed confidence in Nigeria’s health authorities, commending their swift response and extensive contact-tracing efforts following the confirmation.

“We have full confidence in the ability and the capacity of the Nigerian Government’s health authorities to deal with this single case,” he said.

The spokesperson acknowledged that the virus’s appearance in another country raised concerns about its potential spread beyond already affected countries.

“Yeah, I mean, it’s of course concerning that there is a case in a new country,” Mr Dujarric said.

He noted, however, that Nigerian authorities had already undertaken active contact tracing to identify and monitor people potentially exposed to the infected patient.

(NAN)