ABUJA, Nigeria — Two new cases of Ebola have emerged in Nigeria and they are outside the group of caregivers who treated an airline passenger who arrived with Ebola and died, Health Minister Onyebuchi Chukwu said Friday.
The two new cases are spouses of medical workers who had direct contact with Liberian-American Patrick Sawyer, who flew into Nigeria last month with the virus and infected 11 others before he died in July. The male and female caregivers both subsequently died of Ebola, after infecting their spouses, Chukwu told reporters in Abuja, the capital.
Nigerian officials initially claimed the risk of exposure to others was minimal because Sawyer was whisked into isolation after arriving at the airport. But Lagos state health commissioner Jide Idris later acknowledged that Sawyer was not immediately quarantined when he arrived because doctors didn't suspect Ebola.
The two new cases were quarantined two days ago while being tested for the virus, Chukwu said. They had previously been under surveillance but were brought in when they developed Ebola symptoms.
Read Saturday’s Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.
