Ebola-Like Symptoms in a Man in Nigeria Creates Fear

Ebola-like symptoms was seen in a Liberian man, who was hospitalized in Lagos, but the presence of Ebola virus is not yet confirmed, Nigerian officials said Thursday.

The 40-year-old Monrovia resident arrived in Nigeria's mega-city on Sunday and was admitted to hospital on Tuesday suffering from severe vomiting and diarrhoea, said Yewande Adesina, the special adviser on health for the Lagos state government.

Ebola Virus Disease | Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever: Cause Symptoms Diagnosis Treatment
Ebola is caused by a virus via direct contact with body fluids or infected blood. Scientists have identified five types of Ebola or Ebola hemorrhagic fever virus.

The patient was "detained for possible Ebola infection while blood samples were sent to the Virology Reference Laboratory in Lagos as well as to the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Dakar," he said.

"Results are still pending. Presently the patient's condition is stable and he is in recovery," Adesina told journalists. "The diarrhoea and vomited have stopped. He is still under isolation."

The patient traveled from Monrovia to Lagos via Togo's capital Lome, Adesina said.

WHO Sets Up Regional Response Center in Guinea to Contain Ebola Outbreak
The World Health Organization has constituted a regional center in Guinea that will be coordinating the response to the recent outbreak of Ebola virus.

The WHO has recorded more than 900 cases of Ebola in the epidemic that has raged across West Africa in recent months, but this is the first suspected case to emerge in Nigeria since the outbreak began.

Liberia has recorded 172 cases of the disease, including 105 deaths.

Ebola Evidence Circulating in West Africa Since 2006
In Sierra Leone, analysis of clinical samples from suspected Lassa fever cases showed that about two-thirds of the patients had been exposed to other emerging diseases and nearly 9 percent tested positive for Ebola virus.

The epidemic is the worst-ever since the virus first emerged in 1976 in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Lagos government has begun rolling out an emergency response in a bid to contain any potential spread of the virus across the congested city of more than 20 million people, with poor sanitation and health infrastructure.

'Invest in Health, Build a Safer Future': World Health Day
There is a need for greater co-operation between governments, corporate sector and citizens to ensure international preparedness and to provide a universal safety net to deal with global health issues

Source-AFP