Concern over the latest Ebola outbreak continued to mount Monday after Nigeria’s health minister confirmed a second case in a doctor who treated a victim last month in Lagos, one of Africa’s most populous cities, according to Reuters.
The doctor had treated Patrick Sawyer, who died in Lagos last month after arriving by plane from Monrovia, Liberia, the report says.
"As of today, one of the doctors that treated the late Mr. Sawyer has tested positive for the Ebola virus," Onyebuchi Chukwu, Nigeria’s health minister, said at a news conference, according to Reuters.
Al-Jazeera reports that 70 others believed to have come into contact with Sawyer were being monitored, with eight quarantined—including three who were “symptomatic.”
Sawyer, who worked for Liberia’s finance ministry, reportedly contracted the virus from his sister before flying from Monrovia on July 20 to meet with West African officials in Lagos, the report says. He reportedly switched flights in Togo’s capital, Lome.
Upon Sawyer’s arrival in Lagos, he appeared ill and was taken to the First Consultants hospital, where he was treated by the doctor who later contracted the virus, Al-Jazeera reports. Sawyer died in quarantine on July 25, the report says. Last week health officials closed the hospital indefinitely.
The doctor’s case was the latest in “the deadliest-ever Ebola outbreak, which has infected 1,440 people and left 826 dead,” the news site writes. The other cases are spread across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, the report says.
Concern over the outbreak has set off alarm bells acround the globe. On Monday Dubai carrier Emirates became the first major international airline to impose a ban in response to the outbreak in West Africa, suspending flights to Guinea until further notice, according to a statement on its website.
“The safety of our passengers and crew is of the highest priority and will not be compromised,” the statement reads. ”We are continuing our operations to Dakar, Senegal, and will be guided by the advice and updates from the government and international health authorities.”
Read more at Reuters and Al-Jazeera.