India-headed Nigerian woman dies showing Ebola symptoms
People who came in contact with victim isolated pending test results of deceased
Abu Dhabi: A 35-year-old Nigerian woman, who was travelling to India for treatment of cancer, died in Abu Dhabi on Monday while in transit after showing symptoms similar to those of the Ebola virus, United Arab Emirates (UAE) health officials said.
“During the transit phase at Abu Dhabi International Airport, the patient’s health deteriorated and despite medical assistance, she could not be successfully resuscitated," the Abu Dhabi health authority said in a statement. The woman was on her way to India for the treatment of advanced metastatic cancer, it said.
At the time of resuscitation, the woman had shown signs that may be consistent with the Ebola virus infection, although her existing medical condition provided an adequate medical explanation, it said. “Full safety and precautionary measures have been taken by the medical staff who attended the patient according to World Health Organization (WHO) standards for dealing with suspected cases of infectious diseases," it was quoted as saying by the WAM news agency. However, the woman’s husband, who was the only person sitting next to her on the plane and five medics who treated her, have been isolated pending test results of the deceased woman.
All the quarantined people are in good health and show no sign of the disease, it said. The Ebola outbreak, the worst since the virus first appeared in 1976, has claimed 1,145 lives in five months, according to WHO’s latest figures. The disease claimed four lives in Nigeria. PTI
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