Lockdown in Lagos as Ebola fears mount

The Nigerian city of Lagos yesterday shut down and quarantined the hospital at which a man died of Ebola.

It was the first recorded case of the highly infectious disease in Africa's most populous country.

Patrick Sawyer, a consultant for the Liberian Finance Ministry, in his 40s, collapsed on arrival at Lagos airport on July 20 and was isolated at First Consultants Hospital, in Obalende.

He died on Friday.

"We have shut the hospital to enable us to quarantine the [immediate] environment properly. Some of the hospital staff who were in close contact with the victim have been isolated," Lagos state health commissioner Jide Idris told Nigerian TV.

The hospital will be shut for a week and all staff monitored to determine whether the virus has spread, he said.

Ebola has killed 672 people across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone since the latest outbreak was recognised in February.

It can kill up to 90% of those who catch it but the fatality rate of the current outbreak is around 60%.

Highly contagious, especially in the late stages, its symptoms include vomiting, diarrhoea, and internal and external bleeding.

Adding to the risks, Nigerian doctors are on strike over conditions and pay. The chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association was quoted in local media on Saturday as saying that the strike would not be called off despite the Ebola threat.

Nigeria's airports, seaports and land borders have been on "red alert" since Friday.

Liberia closed most of its border crossings on Sunday and introduced stringent health measures.

The World Health Organisation said Sawyer's flight stopped in Lome, Togo, on its way to Lagos.

The organisation said that in the past week its regional director for Africa, Luis Sambo, had been on a fact-finding mission to Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, which have 1201 confirmed, suspected and probable cases between them.

"He saw that the outbreak is beyond each national health sector alone and urged the governments of the affected countries to mobilise and involve all sectors, including civil society and communities, in the response," the UN organisation said.

A surge in cases in Guinea after weeks of relatively few reports showed that "undetected chains of transmission exist in the community", WHO said, calling for containment measures and contact tracing to be stepped up in Guinea.