Ebola cases in Port Harcourt rise to three

One more case of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) infection has been confirmed in Port Harcourt, Capital of Rivers State.

According to minister of health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu, this brings to three the total number of Ebola incidents recorded in Nigeria’s oil capital, following last week’s confirmation of the death of a doctor who attended to the infected ECOWAS staffer that boycotted surveillance in Lagos to turn up in Port Harcourt.

Chukwu confirmed that the latest addition to those two cases is a female patient who was on admission at the same hospital where the late doctor was also admitted.

“She is presently under treatment at the isolation ward in Rivers state,” he said.

“Two other contacts of the late Port Harcourt doctor (one of the doctors who managed him and a pharmacy technician working in the doctor’s hospital) are symptomatic and have been admitted in the isolation ward in Rivers.

“They have tested‎ negative to the EVD, but the Laboratory tests will be repeated to confirm their status.”

He restated Ebola statistics in the country since it was first introduced on July 21 by Liberia-American Patrick Sawyer.

“As at August 31, 2014, the number of contacts under surveillance in Lagos stands at 72; while in Port Harcourt, the total number of contacts under surveillance stands at 199,” he said.

“There’s nobody under surveillance in Enugu presently and no case of EVD in Enugu state.

“As at August 31, 2014, 278 contacts in Lagos state had completed the 21 days surveillance and have been discharged from surveillance; while in Enugu, all the six identified contacts have completed the 21-day observation period and have been discharged from surveillance.”

He added that no contact in Port Harcourt had completed the 21-day observation period, but predicted that a few more contacts would develop symptoms of the virus, particularly in Rivers state, before Nigeria sees the last of it.