A Liberian man who was admitted to a hospital in Obalende Lagos on Tuesday
after exhibiting Ebola-like symptoms has died.
The man identified as Patrick Sawyer, arrived Lagos last
Sunday from Liberia and died on Thursday night at the First Consultant Medical
Centre, Obalende, Lagos, said state officials.
However, during a press briefing in Abuja on Friday, the
Minister of Health, Onyebuchi Chukwu, said the patient died on Friday morning.
Mr Sawyer, an employee of the Liberian Ministry of Finance,
came to Lagos to attend a conference.
Mr. Chukwu said the Federal Ministry of Health was alerted
on a suspected case of the disease involving a 40-year old male travelling from
Monrovia, Liberia to Nigeria on Asky Airline via Lome to Lagos on Tuesday.
He said the passenger had fever and other symptoms of the
disease at the airport was quickly isolated by Port Health Division officials
and transported to the hospital.
He said the patient was subjected to thorough medical and
laboratory evaluation which confirmed the diagnosis of the disease. Mr. Sawyer
was said to be in a stable condition earlier on Thursday and plans were being
made to return him to Liberia but his condition got worse in the evening.
The result of tests conducted on Mr. Sawyer was still being
awaited before he died.
The minister however reassured the public that the Ministry
of Health was presently working with other ministries, agencies and international
organizations to prevent the disease spread.
He said that all passengers that the patient came in contact
with have been traced and are also being investigated medically. Lagos State
health officials said the hospital where the man died has been cordoned off and
about thirty people believed to have had contact with him quarantined.
Mr. Chukwu said, in line with global best practices, all
ports entry in Nigeria including airports, seaports and land boarders have been
placed on red alert as staff of the ministry of health are already positioned
in the locations and surveillance beefed up.
He also said that tertiary health institutions in Nigeria
have been equipped to handle any emergency that may arise from the disease.
Also, drugs and medical consumables are pre-positioned while
the health ministry is working with all the states across Nigeria to contain
the situation.
However, the minister admonished Nigerians to be vigilant,
ensure personal and environmental hygiene and also report any suspected case to
the nearest health facility.
He also said that emergency operation centre have been
established and coordinated by the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control, NCDC,
advising Nigerians to call 08023210923, 08097979595 and 07067352220; or email
ebolainfo@health.gov.ng for inquiries.
The epicentre of Ebola is Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone
where more than 900 people have been infected so far with the deadly virus with
630 deaths. There is no drug or vaccine to treat the virus and it has up to 90
per cent fatality rate.
Ebola is transmitted from fruit bats and apes to humans who
hunt them for food and is further spread to other humans when they come in
contact with the blood or body fluid of an infected person.
Symptoms include, fever, headache, chills, diarrhoea,
nausea, vomiting, sore throat, backache, and joint pains. Later symptoms
include bleeding from the eyes, ears and nose, bleeding from the mouth and
rectum, eye swelling, swelling of the genitals and bloody rashes all over the
body.
Lagos State government issued an alert last week advising
people to observe high hygienic standard including washing of hand and
thoroughly washing and cooking their meat before eating.
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