In Lagos, a nurse who became infected with the Ebola virus has broken quarantine and has left the city. The nurse, part of the team that was tending to Patrick Sawyer, the Liberian- American patient who brought the virus into Nigeria, was in isolation before she went against protocol and traveled to the Eastern province of Enugu after being exposed to the virus. This new development has raised new fears of the infection spreading outside of the city. The truant nurse has a confirmed case of the Ebola virus after testing positive for all the tests.
Nigerian Information Minister Labaran Maku released a statement saying that the nurse had "disobeyed medical instructions" when she fled from the hospital. Enugu is a one of the major cities in the eastern part of the country, and it is here where she ultimately fell sick and was brought immediately to a hospital. However, Minister Maku said that the medical staff at the Enugu hospital has transported her back to the special isolation center in Lagos where she is now receiving treatment. Her husband has also been placed in isolation although he has not exhibited any of the symptoms. Health Minister Onyebuchi Chukwu said that they "had t be sure." At the moment, there is no confirmation whether the nurse had exposed anyone from the eastern city to the highly lethal virus, but the Ministry of information has said that there are "21 persons (in Enugu) being watched."
So far, there have been 10 confirmed cases of Ebola in Nigeria, three of those resulting to death. All the patients are currently in isolation at the quarantine center in Lagos. Officials are fearing the spread of the virus in the country, given that it has the highest population in Africa and an outbreak of that scale will aren't doubted leave place an immense amount of strain on an already struggling healthcare system.