Patrick Sawyer

Patrick Oliver Sawyer (c.1974 - 24 July 2014) was a Liberian-American lawyer who was notable for being the index case for the introduction of Ebola virus disease into Nigeria during the West African Ebola epidemic. Sawyer was a naturalized U.S. citizen who lived in Coon Rapids, Minnesota. He has been variously described as working for the Liberian Ministry of Finance and for the mining company ArcelorMittal as their national manager for public health. He was 40 at the time of his death.

On 9 July 2014, Sawyer informed ArcelorMittal management at the Buchanan office that he had been exposed to the Ebola virus. They referred his case to the Liberian Ministry of Health for observation. They requested that he not return to the offices for 28 days.

However, Sawyer utilized an upcoming conference in Calabar, Nigeria to petition the Liberian Finance Ministry to attend as an "ambassador". His departure was approved. The Liberian government has apologized for the lack of communication between offices and for not listing Sawyer's name at the airport.

On 20 July 2014, Sawyer flew via ASKY Airlines from James Spriggs Payne Airport in Monrovia, Liberia to Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Nigeria's former capital Lagos, with a stopover at Lomé in Togo. He was subsequently described as having appeared to be "terribly ill" when he left Monrovia.

He collapsed upon arriving at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja. A protocol officer of ECOWAS was there to greet him. The officer drove Sawyer in an ECOWAS pool car to First Consultant Hospital, Obalende, Lagos, where he later died on 24 July.

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