LAGOS
Nigeria confirmed on Wednesday five new suspected Ebola infections, a day after the country recorded the fifth death from the deadly virus.
"Till date, we have recorded eight suspected cases, five of which were brought in yesterday," Lagos Health Commissioner Jide Idris told reporters.
"We have 12 confirmed cases on the whole out of which five have died and five have been discharged," he said.
"We are currently following up on 213 contacts while 62 have completed the 21-day follow up."
Idris urged citizens to remain vigilant and stick to preventive measures announced by the government, which includes avoiding contact with fluids of the infected persons or consumption of bush meats, especially bats and monkey.
"This is a call for vigilance as human transmission is only achieved by physical contact with a person who is acutely and gravely ill from Ebola virus through body fluids such as blood, urine, stool, saliva, breast milk, semen and vomitus," said the health commissioner.
"Burial ceremonies where mourners, including family members, have direct contact with patients who died of Ebola have also played a role in the spread, and direct contact with dead bodies should be minimized at this period," he added.
Ebola remains restricted to Lagos for now, according to health officials.
Nigeria recorded its index case through Liberian Patrick Sawyer who fell ill on a Monrovia-Lagos flight and later died of the virus inside Nigeria.
The doctor who led the medical team that attended to Sawyer died Tuesday, health officials said.
Nigeria has since declared Ebola a national emergency.
This is the first time the country is experiencing Ebola outbreak since its discovery in 1976.
By Rafiu Ajakaye
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