Two Ebola patients’ spouses contract virus

Mrs. Ameyo-Stella Adadevoh, Ebola victim

Spouses of two Ebola victims, who had primary contacts with the late Patrick Sawyer, have been confirmed to have contracted the disease. The Federal Government announced yesterday.

Sawyer, a Liberian-American, flew into Nigeria with the virus last month and infected 11 others before he died, including the male and female caregivers who subsequently died of Ebola.

 The federal authorities had initially denied fresh cases of infection when the Lagos State Government raised the alarm earlier in the week.

But in a u-turn yesterday, Health Minister Onyebuchi Chukwu  said the fresh cases brought the number in the country to 14.

Five deaths have been recorded while five other  patients were discharged after recovering from the disease.

Four are currently receiving treatment.

Among the dead is Dr.Stella Adadevoh, senior consultant at the Lagos private hospital where Sawyer was rushed to on arrival in Lagos.

The minister said yesterday that the federal government would honour Dr. Adadevoh for the sacrifice she made in ensuring that Ebola did not  spread beyond Lagos.

He also promised that the Federal Government would continue to work with  the Lagos State Government and other partners with a view to maintaining  vigilance and strengthening  “our containment activities.”