…Nigeria now has 14 confirmed cases of Ebola.
BEVERLY HILLS, August 22, (THEWILL) – Two confirmed cases of the Ebola disease in Nigeria were Friday disclosed by Nigeria’s Health Minister, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu.
The two cases are spouses of two individuals that had direct contacts with Patrick Sawyer, the Liberian-American that brought the disease to Lagos.
The new cases are the first confirmed secondary carriers of the disease in the country, the Minister said in a briefing, adding that they have been under surveillance for sometime.
Their identities were however not disclosed.
So far, 5 persons have been killed by the deadly disease in Nigeria since the outbreak in July.
Nigeria has declared a medical emergency and approved over N1 billion naira to fight the disease.
A statement late Thursday by Dan Nwomeh, the Special Assistant on Media and Communication to the Minister of Health read: ”Nigeria has now recorded the first two (2) cases of Ebola Virus Disease in secondary contacts of the index case, the Liberian-American.
The two patients are spouses of primary contacts of the Liberian-American.
They are among the secondary contacts who have been under surveillance.
This now brings to four (4) the total number of Ebola Virus Disease patients currently under treatment at the isolation ward.
This also means that the total number of cases of Ebola Virus Disease so far reported in the country is fourteen (14). The number of deaths still remains five (5), while the number of those successfully managed and discharged also stands at five (5).
The Federal Government, working with the Lagos State Government and other partners, will continue to maintain vigilance, continue to strengthen our containment activities, and wishes to reassure the Nigerian public and the global community that efforts will not relent until the very last case of the Ebola Virus Disease is seen in Nigeria.
