Ebola In Lagos: Victim Patrick Sawyer Was An American

Patrick Sawyer, the 40-year-old Ebola victim, from Liberia who sparked fears of the ‘Ebola’ outbreak in Lagos, was an American citizen.

Patrick was planning to return home to Coon Rapids, Minnesota, to be reunited with his family for two of his daughters’ birthdays in August but unfortunately he died Friday, July 25 in a Lagos hospital after becoming noticeably ill on a flight from Liberia in West Africa, where the worst ever outbreak of Ebola is gathering pace, to the city of Lagos.

Sawyer, who worked for the Liberian Finance Ministry married his wife Decontee in December 2008, in Coon Rapids. Though they are originally from Liberia, they both hold US citizenship.

Patrick Sawyer & wife, Decontee

Back home in Minnesota, 34-year-old Decontee who is devastated over the death of her husband in an interview with the Pioneer Press, said: "I have three daughters who will never get to know their father.

"Patrick was coming here. What if he still wasn’t displaying symptoms yet and came? He could have brought Ebola here. Someone else could bring Ebola here.

"It’s a global problem because Patrick could’ve easily come home with Ebola. Easy. Easy. It’s close, it’s at our front door. It knocked down my front door."

Patrick Sawyer with one of his daughters

Decontee, who expressed shock that someone so strong could have their lives cut short so suddenly, said she had come forward to share her husband’s fate so that the public can understand how quickly the virus can spread.

It was gathered that before Patrick boarded a plane to Lagos last week, he’d been taking care of his sister who was ill with what was revealed to be Ebola, although according to Decontee, he and his family did not know that at the time.

Patrick Sawyer and another of his daughter

Patrick’s case has sparked alarm across the globe because he was able to board an international flight while carrying the incurable disease. In Lagos, health authorities have started extraordinary measures to stop the spread of the disease. Lagos State Government revealed that about 59 people, who were exposed to the late Ebola victim Patrick Sawyer, have been quarantined by the health department.

The very deadly Ebola virus has been killing people in Western Africa, since last year / beginning of 2014, and ECOWAS has been looking for a way to limit the spread. However, this is the first time it has been reported in Nigeria since the outbreak.