title: The Role of the Polio Program Infrastructure in Response to Ebola Virus Disease Outbreak in Nigeria 2014.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The current West African outbreak of the Ebola virus disease (EVD) began in Guinea in December 2013 and rapidly spread to Liberia and Sierra Leone. On 20 July 2014, a sick individual flew into Lagos, Nigeria, from Monrovia, Liberia, setting off an outbreak in Lagos and later in Port Harcourt city. The government of Nigeria, supported by the World Health Organization and other partners, mounted a response to the outbreak relying on the polio program experiences and infrastructure. On 20 October 2014, the country was declared free of EVD.
  
  
  METHODS
  We examined the organization and operations of the response to the 2014 EVD outbreak in Nigeria and how experiences and support from the country's polio program infrastructure accelerated the outbreak response.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The deputy incident manager of the National Polio Emergency Operations Centre was appointed the incident manager of the Ebola Emergency Operations Centre (EEOC), the body that coordinated and directed the response to the EVD outbreak in the country. A total of 892 contacts were followed up, and blood specimens were collected from 61 persons with suspected EVD and tested in designated laboratories. Of these, 19 (31%) were positive for Ebola, and 11 (58%) of the case patients were healthcare workers. The overall case-fatality rate was 40%. EVD sensitization and training were conducted during the outbreak and for 2 months after the outbreak ended. The World Health Organization deployed its surveillance and logistics personnel from non-Ebola-infected states to support response activities in Lagos and Rivers states.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The support from the polio program infrastructure, particularly the coordination mechanism adopted (the EEOC), the availability of skilled personnel in the polio program, and lessons learned from managing the polio eradication program greatly contributed to the speedy containment of the 2014 EVD outbreak in Nigeria.
authors.affiliation: World Health Organization, Country Representative Office, Abuja, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Rui G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Vaz
authors.affiliation: World Health Organization, Regional Office for Africa, Brazzaville, Congo.
authors.forename: Pascal
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mkanda
authors.affiliation: World Health Organization, Country Representative Office, Abuja, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Banda
authors.affiliation: World Health Organization, Country Representative Office, Abuja, Nigeria.
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Komkech
authors.affiliation: World Health Organization, Country Representative Office, Abuja, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Olubowale O
authors.initials: OO
authors.lastname: Ekundare-Famiyesin
authors.affiliation: World Health Organization, Country Representative Office, Abuja, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Rosemary
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Onyibe
authors.affiliation: World Health Organization, Country Representative Office, Abuja, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Sunday
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Abidoye
authors.affiliation: Global Public Health Solutions, Atlanta, Georgia.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nsubuga
authors.affiliation: Global Public Health Solutions, Atlanta, Georgia.
authors.forename: Sylvester
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Maleghemi
authors.affiliation: World Health Organization, Country Representative Office, Abuja, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Bolatito
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hannah-Murele
authors.affiliation: World Health Organization, Country Representative Office, Abuja, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Sisay G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Tegegne
mesh_terms: D018563:Disease Notification; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000193:education; D019142:Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000266:history / Q000517:prevention & control; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D011051:Poliomyelitis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D011159:Population Surveillance / Q000379:methods
keywords: Ebola virus disease; National emergency operation center; Nigeria; polio program infrastructure