Nigeria recorded two new Ebola infections and quarantined 139 people suspected of being infected with the virus, local newspaper Punch reported Saturday, hours after President Goodluck Jonathan declared a national emergency, according to dpa. The number of people infected with the virus rose to nine in Nigeria, two of whom have died, according to Health Minister Chukwu Onyebuchi. A nurse in Nigeria died this week after contracting the disease from Liberian government consultant Patrick Sawyer, who died last week in a Lagos hospital. Six other suspected cases are yet to be confirmed, the health minister said. Meanwhile, a Canadian citizen who recently travelled to Nigeria was isolated in Brampton Civic Hospital near Toronto after showing flu-like symptoms similar to that of the Ebola virus, broadcaster Global News said Saturday. "The hospital has to do its patient care work and diagnostic work in order to confirm what the exact diagnosis is," a doctor was quoted as saying. The World Health Organization (WHO) Friday declared the Ebola outbreak an international health emergency and called on the four affected West African nations - Nigeria, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone - to announce national emergencies. One reason for declaring an emergency was that most of the affected countries have weak health systems, which urgently need international support, according to the WHO. A total of 1,779 cases and 961 deaths have been reported so far. President Goodluck Jonathan approved the immediate release of 1.9 billion naira (11.6 million dollars) in emergency spending to go toward containing the spread of Ebola, including additional isolation centres, border screenings and deployment of extra personnel. The EU Commission announced it had earmarked another 8 million euros (10.7 million dollars) to help humanitarian groups and UN agencies that are active in the region. The new pledge brings the total amount of EU aid to 11.9 million euros. The World Bank pledged up to 200 million dollars in emergency funding this week to help Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, the countries that have been hit the hardest by the epidemic. There is no cure for Ebola, which causes massive haemorrhaging, and no proven vaccine to prevent the disease. Ebola has a fatality rate of 90 per cent and is transmitted through blood and other body fluids.
