A doctor in Port Harcourt who treated a primary contact of Nigeria’s patient zero for the Ebola outbreak has died from the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD).
The death of doctor has been confirmed by the Nigerian Minister for Health, Onyebuchi Chukwu.
The widow of the doctor who passed away is also exhibiting symptoms of the disease, although laboratory tests to ascertain the veracity of her EVD infection status are still pending.
The Nigerian Minister of Health released this statement today: “Following the report of this death by the doctor’s widow the next day, the case had been thoroughly investigated and laboratory analysis showed that this doctor died from EVD (Ebola Virus Disease)”.
According to the Health Minister, “this primary contact of Mr. Sawyer’s evaded our surveillance team in the last week of July 2014 and travelled out of Lagos to Port Harcourt where, as we now understand, he consulted with a doctor and was apparently treated for some symptoms…after four days, following a manhunt for him, he returned to Lagos by which time he was found to be without symptoms.”
The confirmation of an EVD related death outside Lagos invalidates earlier reports this week that the Ebola outbreak has been contained in Nigeria.
On Tuesday Nigerian Health Minister Onyebuchi Chukwu had released a statement laying to the fact that Ebola had been contained in Nigeria and that there was only one case left being treated in an isolation ward in Lagos.
The death of the doctor raises the number of deaths in Nigeria attributed to EVD to 6.
Source: ReutersAfrica/DailyPostNigeria
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