Liberian Patrick Sawyer, the first man to have died in Nigeria from Ebola, possibly knew he had been infected with the virus before travelling to Lagos.
Photo: Patrick Sawyer with daughter
Images made by Close Circuit Television (CCTV) showed that Sawyer looked terribly ill and avoided bodily contacts with people before boarding the flight, Liberian media The New Dawn reports.
He was allegedly exhibiting unusual behaviour trying to stay away from other passengers coming close to him at the James Sprigg Payne’s Airport. The extract from the report reads:
“His strange behaviour and frequent movement up and down as he eagerly awaits his Asky flight had prompted the security camera operator to focus on him. In the video, Patrick could be seen avoiding physical contacts with airport employees and other passengers during the check in process.”
Sawyer arrived Lagos on July 23 for an ECOWAS convention in Calabar. He reportedly fell ill while on board and was rushed to the hospital where he died from Ebola symptoms on July 25.
However, based on the video footage the man was lying flat on his stomach on the floor in the corridor of the airport and seemed to be in pain.
Another Liberian newspaper, FrontPage Africa, said that Sawyer had vomited several times before going to the airport, which was witnessed by his friends. The newspaper correspondent Rodney Sieh confirmed to Premium Times:
“He definitely knew he was sick and it was curious that he still decided to travel. His sister had died from the virus and he most likely had contact with her.”
Meanwhile, the death toll from this year’s EVD outbreak approaches 1000, according to World Health Organization (WHO).
In Nigeria, apart from Patrick Sawyer, one more person died from the disease: the nurse who attended the Liberian man. It was made known yesterday by the Nigeria’s health minister that 5 more cases of infection with the virus had been registered in the country.
Source: Naij
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