Ebola Won’t Be Used as a Political Weapon, NCDC Chief Says

Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention Director-General Jide Idris said health authorities would not use the Ebola outbreak for political purposes. He said any decision to postpone elections would depend on how the situation develops, adding that no postponement was needed at present. Nigeria confirmed its first case in the current outbreak in Abuja on October 20; 53 contacts are being monitored, and the patient was medically evacuated to Switzerland on Monday. Idris urged regular handwashing and said authorities had tracked the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and prepared for the risk of an imported case.