The total number of confirmed cases of Ebola virus disease in Nigeria now stands at 19, 15 of which are in Lagos and four in Port Harcourt, and that’s according to the Minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu.

The 19th case, according to the minister, is the fiancé of one of the primary contacts with Mr. Sawyer who died of the disease.

The test results of the said case were unclear but further tests established the disease with only mild symptoms which he has since recovered from.

Prof. Chukwu added that he was quarantined but because of the initial nature of his test results, he was not placed on active treatment.

The minister further revealed that the total number of deaths from the Ebola virus disease in Nigeria stands at seven, five of which happened in Lagos and the other two in Port Harcourt, while the total number of patients who have been successfully managed and discharged stands at nine.

The latest is the sister of the Port Harcourt doctor who was discharged from the isolation ward in Rivers State yesterday.

At the moment only one person, the wife of the Port Harcourt doctor, is on treatment in the isolation ward in Lagos and the minister says she no longer has any symptoms and is undergoing series of tests preparatory to her discharge from the isolation ward this week.

Regarding contacts currently under surveillance in Lagos, the minister said that there were 27 contacts still under surveillance while a total of 339 contacts, who were previously on surveillance, have been discharged having completed 21 days of observation,.

However, in Port Harcourt, 477 contacts are under surveillance.

The minister has urged countries around the world to desist from profiling individuals from countries currently grappling with the Ebola virus.

•Text courtesy of Channels TV. Photo shows doctors working on an Ebola case.