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| Nigerian Health Minister, Dr Onyebuchi Chukwu |
President Goodluck Jonathan on
Monday branded a Liberian-American a "madman" for bringing Ebola into
Nigeria, as the country announced its 10th confirmed case of the deadly virus,
reports AFP.
Patrick Sawyer died in a Lagos
hospital on July 25 in Nigeria's first case of Ebola, which has claimed the
lives of nearly 1,000 people in West Africa since the start of the year.
The 40-year-old, who was to have
attended a meeting of the regional bloc ECOWAS (Economic Community of West
African States), was taken to hospital after arriving in Lagos on a flight from
Monrovia via the Togolese capital, Lome.
A nurse who treated him died last
week, while tests last weekend confirmed that another had also contracted the
virus. Eight others have also tested positive, the government said.
"It is unfortunate that one
madman brought the Ebola to us but we have to contain it," Jonathan told
faith leaders at a conference in the capital, Abuja, vowing the government
would do "everything possible" to combat its spread.
Nigeria -- Africa's most populous
nation and the continent's leading economy -- had until last month been spared
from Ebola, which has spread alarmingly in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.
But its arrival has sown fear
throughout the country and particularly in Lagos, a teeming megacity of more
than 20 million people with crumbling infrastructure and poor healthcare
facilities.
The authorities in sub-Saharan
Africa's largest city have appealed for volunteers because of a shortage of
medical personnel, exacerbated by a month-long doctors' strike.
A number of measures to tackle the
spread of Ebola, which is passed on through direct contact with an infected
person displaying symptoms, have already been announced.
Jonathan last week declared a
national emergency in line with World Health Organization (WHO) advice to affected
countries to trigger disaster response procedures.
Greater funding has been promised to
set up additional isolation centres, border screenings and contact tracing,
while Nigerians have been told to avoid large gatherings.
- 'Crazy man' -
In his address, Jonathan told faith
leaders to help get the message across and also to pay close attention to
traditional burial ceremonies, given that the Ebola virus is transmissible from
dead bodies.
"We must advise our people not
to over-celebrate burial now," he said.
Jonathan said that Sawyer contracted
Ebola because his sister died from the infection and he attended her funeral.
"(He) became a suspect. And the
country (Liberia) asked him not to leave the country so that he will be
observed but the crazy man decided to smuggle himself out and now we are
suffering because of it," he added.
Following strict professional health
advice was now paramount, Jonathan said, adding: "If we manage it well we
can get over it in two months and we will return to our normal lives."
The WHO said on Friday there were 13
probable and suspect cases of Ebola, including two deaths, in Nigeria.
The global health body is discussing
the possible use of an experimental treatment to try to stem the spread.
In Nigeria, health minister Onyebuchi
Chukwu pleaded for Nigeria's National Medical Association to call off its
strike, with the union split between those who want to return to work to tackle
the crisis and those intent on staying out.
The Nigerian Red Cross Society
(NRCS) meanwhile said it had activated all its volunteers to get across
preventative measures to the public, particularly seeking early medical advice
and treatment.
Secretary-general Bello Hamman Diram
said 18 volunteers were assisting in areas such as contact tracing, health promotion,
case management and public information schemes.
Some 300 other volunteers will be deployed to
help the federal and Lagos State governments in providing protective equipment
as well as educational and hygiene materials.
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