Minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu, has said the number of cases of the Ebola virus in Nigeria has increased to 19, with the fiancé of the late Patrick Sawyer’s primary contact as the 19th patient.

The minister made this known in Abuja, on Monday, at a press briefing on the update on the Ebola virus disease in the country.

According to him, “as of this morning, the total number of confirmed cases of Ebola virus in Nigeria is 19, 15 in Lagos, four in Port Harcourt.

“The 19th case is the fiancé of one of the primary contact of Mr Sawyer who died of the disease. The test results were equivocal, but further tests established the disease.”

The minister further said “the total number of deaths from Ebola in Nigeria stands at seven.”

Five of this, he said, died in Lagos, “one in a private hospital, the index case, Mr Sawyer and the other four in the isolation ward in Lagos State.

“Two of the seven died in Port Harcourt, the medical doctor who died in a private hospital and the contact, a patient in the hospital at the time the doctor was also on admission, who died in the isolation ward in Rivers State.”

On the number of patients that was managed, Chukwu said “the total number of patients who have been successfully managed and discharged stands at nine. The latest is Chinyere, sister of the Port Harcourt doctor, Iyke Enemuo, who was discharged from the isolation ward in Rivers State on Monday.”

Also commenting on the contacts, the minister said “regarding the contacts currently under surveillance, Lagos has 27 contacts surveillance as of now. A total of 319 contacts that are previously on surveillance have been discharged, having completed 21 days observation.

“Port Harcourt has 477 contacts under surveillance. It is a mixed group consisting of tertiary and quaternary contacts of Mr Sawyer. Five contacts have already been discharged in Port Harcourt, having completed 21 days of observation.”

The minister said currently, Nigeria had one Ebola patient, the wife of Enemuo, who he said was already recovering.

He, however, said the Federal Ministry of Health had commemnced the distribution of ambulances, utility vehicles and motorcycles to the port health services at international airports, seaports and land crossing.

Corroborating the story, Rivers State Commissioner for Health, Dr Sampson Parker, disclosed that Chinyere, the younger sister of the late Dr Iyke Enemuo, has been discharged from the isolation centre in Oduoha, Emohua Local Government Area of the state.