Ebola caused the death of a Liberian national who died in quarantine in Lagos, Nigeria confirms
Liberian health workers about to load
the body of a woman who died from the Ebola virus into a pickup at the
isolation unit in Foya, Lofa County Photo: EPA
Nigeria said yesterday that Ebola caused
the death of a Liberian national who died in quarantine in Lagos,
confirmation that the worst-ever outbreak of the virus has reached
Africa's most populous country.
"The
patient was subjected to thorough medical tests ... which confirmed the
virus of Ebola," as the cause of death, Nigeria's health minister,
Onyebuchi Chukwu, told journalists.
The
40-year-old worked for the Liberian government and had travelled to
Nigeria by air via Togo's capital Lome for a meeting organised by the
west African bloc known as ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African
States), the minister said.
He was
suffering from severe vomiting and diarrhoea upon arrival at the
international airport in Lagos and was transported directly to hospital,
the minister said.
The patient "avoided contact with the general public" between the airport and the hospital, he added.
"All the passengers that the patient came in
contact have been traced and are being investigated," in a bid to
contain any spread of the virus across the city of more than 20 million
people, Chukwu said.As of July 20, the number of Ebola cases recorded in the months-long epidemic stood at 1,093, including more than 660 deaths, according to the World Health Organisation.
Liberia has seen 127 fatalities.
Lagos, the largest city in Sub-Saharan Africa, poses challenges to health officials seeking to contain a spread of the virus.
The congested city has terrible sanitation and a poor health system, but the minister assured that the patient did not come into contact with anyone outside the airport aside from medical workers.
No comments:
Post a Comment