World Health Organization selects UAB grad to lead Ebola fight

A 2010 graduate of the University of Alabama at Birmingham has been selected by the World Health Organization to a six-person committee tasked with evaluating the global response to the Ebola epidemic.

Dr. Faisal Shuaib received his degree from the School of Public Health's international health program and was recently commissioned by WHO Director General Dr. Margaret Chan to be part of the team that will lead WHO's Ebola strategy.

"It is an honor to be part of this prestigious assembly of experts commissioned to do this important piece of work," Shuaib said. "The panel's report will hopefully add to the growing body of knowledge on how we can do a better job of confronting disease-causing agents that have proved to be tenacious, efficient and unforgiving."

Shuaib is currently the incident manager and head of the National Ebola Emergency Operations Center in Nigeria, where he played a major role in containing and ultimately dispelling the virus outbreak.

The first case of Ebola in Nigeria came into Lagos state by flight on July 20 when an ill traveler arrived from Liberia, according to UAB. During the course of the disease, Shuaib said the country recorded 19 confirmed cases, but within a month the country reported no more cases and the WHO declared Nigeria Ebola-free on Nov. 7, 2014.

As part of the WHO team, Shuaib will be monitoring other West African countries and submit a report to the 68th World Health Assembly in May.
"We still maintain a focus on the Ebola outbreak in other West African countries," Shuaib said. "We continue to conduct active surveillance, perform screenings at our ports, and continually increase awareness about this disease."

source: http://www.bizjournals.com/