A Nigerian port health official uses a thermometer on a passenger at the arrivals hall of Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, Nigeria. Photo: AP
Ebola, one of the world’s most fatal diseases, has surfaced in Africa’s most populous country.
Nigerian health officials have announced nine confirmed cases and two deaths in the country from the Ebola outbreak that is sweeping West Africa – including a nurse and a man from Liberia whom the nurse had been caring for.
The man, Patrick Sawyer, a naturalised US citizen, had flown to Nigeria in late July and died soon after. He had infected at least seven other people, including the nurse, who died August 5, officials said.
Nigeria President Goodluck Jonathan. Photo: AP
By Friday, President Goodluck Jonathan had declared a state of emergency, officially adding Nigeria, home to more than 160 million people, to the list of nations struggling to control one of the largest public-health emergencies in recent history: More than 900 people have died.