Nigerian
authorities say they are working to confirm what they fear is the
country’s first case of Ebola, in a man who died after flying from
Liberia. If it turns out to be true, it would be the first time Ebola
has been carried on a jet and would make for a worrying turn in the
worst Ebola outbreak yet seen. More than 1,000 people have been infected
and more than 600 of them have died in the outbreak in West Africa.
Nigerian Health Minister
Onyebuchi Chukwu said Patrick Sawyer, a Liberian citizen, collapsed on
Sunday after flying into Lagos. He died after being put into isolation.
Officials said Sawyer’s sister had died of Ebola in recent weeks. "His
blood sample was taken to the advance laboratory at the Lagos university
teaching hospital, which confirmed the diagnosis of the Ebola virus
disease in the patient," Chukwu told a news conference on Friday. It’s
tricky testing for Ebola and the World Health Organization, which
tallies Ebola cases, said it was waiting for the results of a second,
confirmatory test. Lagos city health commissioner Jide Idris said
officials were only "assuming that it was Ebola" while waiting for
confirmation from a lab in Senegal. There are other viral hemorrhagic
fevers in Africa that can resemble Ebola, notably Lassa fever, dengue
and yellow fever.
