Reports of a patient released from an Ebola treatment center in Lagos hit the news recently and it was immediately assumed that it was Dr. Stella Ameyo Adadevoh, who was one of the first people confirmed to have the disease.
However, the Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, has corrected the wrong notions and reports saying that the discharged female patient is in fact not Dr. Adadevoh.
The minister’s reaction was disclosed via a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Media and Communication, Dan Nwomeh.
It read:
“It has been brought to the attention of the Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, that the first Nigerian to be diagnosed of Ebola Virus Disease, a female doctor who treated the index case and who was discharged to go home yesterday, is being reported in some of the media to be one Dr Adadevoh.
“The minister wishes to clarify that the name of the patient is not Dr Adadevoh, this should be noted,’’
The minister’s statement yesterday, while indicating that it was a female doctor, did not indicate the name of the patient.
Meanwhile according to Sahara Reporters, Dr. Adadevoh’s condition might have even gotten worse.
The doctor’s plight became public after a colleague, Dr. Ladi Okubadejo pleaded that she be given the experimental Ebola drug, ZMapp as she does not deserve to die.
Dr. Adadevoh was one of the health workers who came in contact with Ebola-infected Patrick Sawyer and she is credited with making the call to keep him behind hospital doors.
