Ebola virus disease in Nigeria
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| Disease | Ebolavirus |
|---|---|
| First case | 6 August 2014 |
| Origin | Patrick Sawyer |
| Deaths | 8 |
| Confirmed cases | 20 |
Ebola virus disease in Nigeria occurred in 2014, the epidemic of Ebola virus disease (commonly known as "Ebola") in Guinea represents the first ever outbreak of Ebola in a West African country. Previous outbreaks have been confined to countries in Central Africa. The epidemic, which began with the death of a 2-year-old boy in December 2013, is now part of a larger Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa which has spread through Guinea and the neighboring countries of Liberia and Sierra Leone, with smaller outbreaks occurring in Senegal, Nigeria, and Mali.
On 25 March 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that Guinea's Ministry of Health had reported an outbreak of Ebola virus disease in four southeastern districts, with suspected cases in the neighbouring countries of Liberia and Sierra Leone being investigated. In Guinea, a total of 86 suspected cases, including 59 deaths had been reported as of 24 March.
Researchers generally believe that a one-year-old boy, later identified as Emile Ouamouno, who died in December 2013 in the village of Meliandou, Guéckédou Prefecture, Guinea, was the index case of the current Ebola virus disease epidemic. His mother, sister, and grandmother then became ill with similar symptoms and also died. People infected by those initial cases spread the disease to other villages.
Although Ebola represents a major public health issue in sub-Saharan Africa, no cases had ever been reported in West Africa and the early cases were diagnosed as other diseases more common to the area. Thus, the disease had several months to spread before it was recognized as Ebola.
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