Four more patients who have previously been receiving treatment for the deadly Ebola virus have been discharged from the Ebola Emergency Treatment Center in Lagos. In a statement released on Monday by the country's Minister of Health, Onyebuchi Chukwu, he said that the patients who have been discharged have been confirmed to be free from the virus, although their identities were not disclosed.
The minister said that three of the patients were part of the medical staff who participated in the treatment of the first case of the Ebola virus in the country, Liberian-American patient Patrick Sawyer. The fourth patient was a female patient who was already admitted for some other medical reason at the First Consultant Hospital at the time of Mr. Sawyer's admission. In light of this new development, there are now five people who have been successfully treated for the Ebola virus in Nigeria and discharged with a clean bill of health, with the first resolved case discharged on Saturday after being declared Ebola free.
Mr. Chukwu had already indicated earlier that more than half of the patients who were being treated were responding positively to the treatment. He also said that all the people that were under surveillance for the virus got infected through secondary contact, but that they are now in isolation. Additional hospital equipment has also been brought in to help with the treatment and observation. He also denied speculations that there are suspected cases of the virus in the Abia, Imo, and Cross River states, and that cases in other province are already under investigation. "The mother of the child in Kwara tested negative and we are still investigating the child. Also, the corpse in Anambra was embalmed and we are awaiting results of the test. All the mortuary attendants who had contact with the corpse tested negative, so there is no need to panic," he said.
