Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, on Monday debunked the news making the rounds on fresh outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease in the country.
The minister at a press conference on the update of the virus in Nigeria said there was no any iota of truth in the latest rumor of fresh cases in some parts of the country.
He noted that outside the cases in Lagos and Rivers States, no other fresh incidence of Ebola had been reported.
At the moment only one person, the wife of the Port Harcourt doctor is on treatment in the isolation ward in Lagos, though she is no longer showing symptoms and is undergoing tests preparatory to her discharge this week.
So far seven people have died from the Ebola, including Mr. Patrick Sawyer, the Liberian-American who imported the virus into the country.
The minister said another patient was discharged on Sunday. The patient, according to him is the sister of the Port Harcourt doctor, Iyke Enemuo.
He said, “It has been 50 days since Ebola Virus Disease was imported into Nigeria through Lagos and 38 days since it was introduced into Port Harcourt.
“So far, all the cases that have been confirmed in Nigeria are traceable to the index case, the Liberian-American, Mr. Patrick Sawyer.
“As of this morning the total number of confirmed cases of EVD in Nigeria is 19. That is 15 in Lagos and four in Port Harcourt.
“The 19th case is the fiancé of one of the primary contacts of Mr. Sawyer’s who died of the disease. The test results were equivocal but further tests established the disease. He had only mild symptoms and he has since recovered from the illness. He was quarantined, but because of the equivocal test result, he was not placed on active treatment.
“The total number of deaths from EVD in Nigeria stands at seven. Five of this died in Lagos, one in a private hospital, the index case, Mr. Sawyer, and the other four in the isolation ward in Lagos State.
Two died in Port Harcourt, the medical doctor who died in a private hospital and the contact, a patient in the hospital, who died in the isolation ward in Rivers State.
The total number of patients who have been successfully managed and discharged stands at nine.
“The latest is the sister of the Port Harcourt doctor who was discharged from the isolation ward in Rivers State on Sunday. It should be noted that the nine patients successfully managed and discharged are among the 11 survivors of EVD in Nigeria.
“At the moment only one person, the wife of the Port Harcourt doctor is on treatment in the isolation ward in Lagos. She is no longer showing symptoms and is undergoing tests preparatory to her discharge from the isolation ward this week.”
