Ameyo Adadevoh was a Nigerian physician. She is credited with having curbed a wider spread of the Ebola virus in Nigeria by placing the patient zero, Patrick Sawyer, in quarantine despite pressures from the Liberian government. When threatened by Liberian officials who wanted the patient to be discharged to attend a conference, she resisted the pressure and said, “for the greater public good” she would not release him. She is known for preventing the Nigerian index case from leaving the hospital at the time of diagnosis, thereby playing a key role in curbing the spread of the virus in Nigeria. On 4 August 2014, it was confirmed that she had tested positive for Ebola virus disease and was being treated. Adadevoh died in the afternoon of 19 August 2014. She was survived by her husband Afolabi and son Bankole among other relatives.
Early life and family
Ameyo Adadevoh was born in Lagos, Nigeria in October 1956. She spent the majority of her life in Lagos. Her father and great-grandfather, Babatunde Kwaku Adadevoh and Herbert Samuel Macaulay, were both distinguished scientists. Herbert Macaulay was one of the founders of modern Nigeria. Her grandfather was from the Adadevoh family of the Volta Region of Ghana, to which she was very much connected, though she lived in Lagos. Her father Babatunde Kwaku Adadevoh was a physician and former Vice chancellor of the University of Lagos. She was also the grand niece of Nigeria's first presidentNnamdi Azikiwe, as well as a great-great-great granddaughter of Ajayi Crowther. Adadevoh worked at First Consultant Hospital where a statue of her great-grandfather exists.
Education
She went to preschool at the Mainland Preparatory Primary School in Yaba, Lagos. Ameyo Adadevoh spent two years in Boston, Massachusetts before moving back with her family to Lagos. She attended primary school at the Corona School, Yaba in Lagos, Nigeria. She attended Queen's School, Ibadan Nigeria for her secondary school education.
Dr. Adadevoh correctly diagnosed Liberian Patrick Sawyer as Nigeria’s first case of Ebola at First Consultant Hospital in Lagos, Nigeria in July 2014. Dr. Adadevoh kept Patrick Sawyer in the hospital despite his insistence that he simply had a bad case of malaria. Sawyer wanted to attend a business conference in Calabar, Nigeria. Adadevoh led the team that oversaw Sawyer's treatment. Dr. Adadevoh also kept Patrick Sawyer at the hospital despite receiving a request from the Liberian ambassador to release him. Dr. Adadevoh tried to create an isolation area, despite the lack of protective equipment, by raising a wooden barricade outside Patrick Sawyer's door. Her heroic effort saved the nation from widespread infection. At the time of these events, Nigerian doctors were on strike, which could have led to severe crises. The professionalism and thorough medical examination carried out by Dr. Ameyo Adadevoh was impeccable. Adadevoh also provided staff with relevant information about the virus, procured protective gear and quickly contacted relevant officials. As a result of her report, the Nigerian government declared a national public health emergency and the Nigerian Ministry of Health set up an Ebola Emergency Operations Center. WHO declared Nigeria to be Ebola-free on October 20, 2014.
Marriage and Children
Ameyo Adadevoh married Afolabi Emmanuel Cardoso on April 26, 1986. The couple had one son, Bankole Cardoso.
Death and legacy
Dr Adadevoh succumbed to the Ebola virus whilst in quarantine and died on 19 August 2014 in Lagos, Nigeria. Her body was decontaminated and cremated by the government. Her family obtained her ashes and held a private interment ceremony on 12 September 2014, in Lagos. The Dr. Ameyo Adadevoh Health Trust, a non-profit health organization, was created in her honour. The film 93 Days is dedicated to Ameyo and tells the story of the treatment of Patrick Sawyer by Adadevoh and other medical staff at First Consultant Medical Center. The film is directed by Steve Gukas. On October 27, 2018, she was honoured with a Google Doodle posthumously on what would have been her 62nd birthday.
