Abuja, Aug 18 (IANS): The Nigerian government has approved the extension of the current holiday of primary and secondary schools across the country until further notice in order to prevent an outbreak of the Ebola virus disease among students, media reported Monday.

The extension of the holiday period of students is part of measures to curb the spread of Ebola virus in the country, MENA news agency reported citing Nigeria News Day online.

The government is, however, silent on how long the students would be on holiday.

Ebola spread to Nigeria through Liberian-American diplomat Patrick Sawyer who died in a Lagos hospital July 25 to become the country' first victim of the disease, which has claimed the lives of over 1,000 people in West Africa since the start of the year.

The 40-year-old, who was supposed to have attended a meeting of the regional bloc Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), was taken to hospital after arriving in Lagos on a flight from Monrovia via Togolese capital, Lome.

A nurse who treated him died last week, while tests last weekend confirmed that another person has also been infected by the virus. Eight other patients have also tested positive, the government said.