Nigerian Ebola patient discharged after full recovery

Abuja, Aug 17: The first Nigerian confirmed to have contracted the Ebola virus has been discharged here after full recovery, the government said.

Minister of Health Onyebuchi Chukwu late Saturday told reporters in Lagos, the country's economic hub, that the patient was discharged after conclusive protocols, Xinhua reported.

Five other Ebola patients also have almost fully recovered, Chukwu said.

He said Nigeria recorded 12 confirmed cases, four of whom have died, while 189 people are under surveillance in Lagos, and six in southeastern state of Enugu.

According to the minister, all the people under surveillance came in secondary contacts with the infected, and all the patients under treatment have now moved to the new 40-bed isolated ward in Lagos.

The minister also said the Nanosilver drug which was made available to the Emergency Operations Centre in Lagos Aug 14, did not meet basic research requirements.

Chukwu denied the rumour of Ebola virus in Imo, Abia and Cross River states.

Patrick Sawyer, a Liberian national, brought the Ebola virus into the country. It has killed over 1,000 people in West Africa.

Sawyer died July 20 and the female doctor who attended to him also died July 25 after getting infected.

IANS