New Ebola Case Confirmed In Lagos

Nigeria on Monday confirmed a new case of Ebola in Lagos, bringing the total number of people in the country with the virus to 10.

Health minister Onyebuchi Chukwu said the latest confirmed case was a female nurse who came into contact with a Liberian-American man, Patrick Sawyer, who died of Ebola in a Lagos hospital on July 25.

In addition to Sawyer, another nurse who had contact with him died last week, while seven other people have been confirmed to have the virus in the city, he added.

“The 10th case actually was one of the nurses who also had primary contact with the index case. When he (Sawyer) got ill, we then brought her into isolation,” the minister told a news conference in Abuja.

“We just tested her over the weekend. So, that’s what made it 10. So, between Friday and today we had one additional case. That brings it to 10 and the 10 includes the index case.”

Chukwu said the nurse was currently undergoing treatment while her husband was under surveillance.

The health minister on Monday confirmed that public sector doctors were pressing on with their stoppage after divisions within the National Medical Association union (NMA) created confusion.

The health minister on Monday said he was “pleading” with the union to return to work.