Joy as Nigerian scientists develop Ebola screening solutions

A team of Nigerian scientists in the Diaspora has validated and adapted a methodology that will enhance the gene amplification of the Ebola virus in 30 minutes.

This came on the heels of the declaration of Nigeria as an Ebola-free country by the World Health Organisation.

The team, led by an alumnus of Florida Atlantic University, the United States, and a visiting associate lecturer to Bowen University, Nigeria, Olumide Adenmosun, is coordinating technical support for the ongoing clinical and research programme in Nigeria.

Finally: WHO declares Nigeria Ebola free

An Ebola patient being treated by a doctor

Nigeria has been declared officially free of Ebola after six weeks with no new cases, the World Health Organisation says.

Africa’s most populous country won praise for its swift response after an infected Liberian diplomat brought the disease there in July.

The WHO officially declared Senegal Ebola-free on Friday.

The outbreak has killed more than 4,500 people in West Africa, mostly in Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone.

An estimated 70 per cent of those infected have died in those countries.

Meanwhile, European Union foreign ministers are meeting in Luxembourg to discuss how to strengthen their response to the threat posed by Ebola.

WHO says Ebola killed 2,811

An Ebola patient being treated at the hospital

The deadliest Ebola epidemic ever has now killed 2,811 in West Africa, the World Health Organization said Monday, adding though that in Senegal and Nigeria the outbreak had been basically contained.
The UN health agency, which also published the results of the latest meeting of its Ebola emergency committee, said a total of 5,864 people had been infected in five west African countries as of September 18.
The disease has claimed 181 lives since the last death toll of 2,630 was issued on September 14.
Guinea, where the outbreak began at the start of the year, and neighbouring Liberia and Sierra Leone by far account for most of the cases and continue to see ballooning numbers.
Liberia has been especially hard-hit, with 1,578 deaths from 3,022 cases.

How Adedavoh, doctor infected by Sawyer, died of Ebola

Adedavoh

 Dr. Ameyo Adadevoh, one of the medical personnel who treated Patrick Sawyer, the Liberian-American who exported the dreaded Ebola Virus into Nigeria, finally lost the battle to stay alive. She was 58 years old.

Adadevoh was one of the physicians at First Consultants Medical Centre, a Lagos-based hospital, where Patrick Sawyer, was admitted; she died on Tuesday evening after all efforts to revive her from coma by medical experts failed.

Her passing brings the total number of casualties in Nigerian from the Ebola virus  to five since it first broke in July.

Shocker: US classifies anti-Ebola drug ordered by Nigeria as pesticide

Ebola patient receiving treatment in a hospital

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Thursday it has become aware of products being sold online that fraudulently claim to prevent or treat Ebola.

The FDA's warning comes on the heels of comments by Nigeria's top health official, Onyebuchi Chukwu, who reportedly said earlier Thursday that eight Ebola patients in Lagos, the country's capital, will receive an experimental treatment called nano-silver.

Erica Jefferson, a spokeswoman for the FDA, said she could not provide any information about the product referenced by the Nigerians.

The FDA did not specify any products in its warning.

Ebola: Wife finally opens up on why Patrick Sawyer travelled to Nigeria

Decontee Sawyer

The widow of late Patrick Sawyer, the Liberian who brought Ebola into Nigeria, has defended her husband’s decision to travel to Africa’s most populous country, saying he did so in desperate search for a country with better healthcare system than his own country.

In an article published earlier today, TMZ Liberia Magazine quoted Decontee Sawyer, who is a radio host in New York, as explaining that Mr. Sawyer had no trust in the healthcare system in Liberia and had possibly headed to Nigeria with the hope of receiving better treatment for his ailment.

Mrs. Sawyer shared her thoughts on her Facebook profile from which TMZ Liberia sourced it for publication.

Ebola fear spreads as FG quarantines 198 persons

The Federal Government on Wednesday said a total of 198 persons are currently being quarantined for the Ebola Virus Disease, this SHOWBIZPLUSng can authoritatively report.

It said while 177 are being quarantined in Lagos where the index case was reported, 21 persons are being attended to in Enugu.

Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, disclosed this while briefing State House correspondents of the outcome of the weekly Federal Executive Council meeting presided over by President Goodluck Jonathan.

Maku said Enugu came into the picture because one of the nurses that treated the American-Liberian, Patrick Sawyer, who brought the virus to the country disobeyed medical advice and travelled to Enugu.

He said all those the nurse had contacts with, including her husband, are currently being quarantined.