Nigeria Ebola scare: 10 people quarantined as man dies in Calabar hospital

At least 10 people in Nigeria have been put in quarantine for suspected Ebola as one man died after showing symptoms typical of the virus. Nigeria was affected by the Ebola outbreak – the worst in history – in March 2014, but was declared free from the virus in October 2014.

Ebola is a hemorrhagic fever spread by contact with infected bodily fluids. Its symptoms include fever, vomiting, diarrhoea and body aches. The virus mainly affected Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone and killed more than 11,000 people.

Earlier in October, the three west African nations announced they had not recorded any new cases for one week, suggesting that the spread of the disease was decreasing. However, the World Health Organisation warned that new outbreaks can occur.

A year after Nigeria was declared Ebola-free, a man died after arriving at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, in Cross River State, on Wednesday (7 October).

Dr Queeneth Kalu said that blood samples of the deceased patient had been sent to the Ebola Diagnosing Centre in Benin Edo State, according to the Vanguard. He added that the people quarantined are mainly nurses and people who came in contact with the patient before he died.

Nigeria was hit by Ebola when a Liberian-American lawyer Patrick Sawyer brought the virus to the commercial capital of Lagos when he flew in from Liberia to attend a conference. At least seven people died after being affected by the virus in Nigeria, one of the countries least affected by the outbreak.

In July, WHO announced that a vaccine for the virus, named Guinea Phase III, had shown to be "highly effective" against the deadly disease after being trialled.