Nigeria confirms Ebola case as outbreak spreads across Africa
An Ebola infection has been confirmed in Abuja, Nigeria's capital, in a woman who arrived from Uganda. Authorities are tracing 44 contacts, while the head of Africa CDC warns of an extremely serious threat.
Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, has confirmed a case of Ebola, its health ministry announced. The disease was diagnosed in a woman in the capital, Abuja, who had arrived from Uganda. It is the latest case in a regional epidemic that began in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The woman developed symptoms on 7 October and was admitted to an Abuja hospital four days later, where Ebola was later diagnosed. It is unclear when she entered Nigeria. Health Minister Muhammad Pate said authorities had begun tracing 44 people identified as her contacts, adding that everything possible was being done to contain the case.
Dispute over where infection occurred
Uganda's health ministry said the patient had merely transited through the country and is a Nigerian woman who had been on a business trip to eastern Congo. Nigerian authorities have not disclosed her nationality. The Ugandan ministry stressed that travel through its territory does not establish that she was infected there, that the place of exposure is under investigation, and that Uganda has no confirmed active Ebola cases. Uganda had earlier reported cases but later declared itself free of the virus.
Scale of the outbreak
Kenya confirmed its first case earlier this month and has since recorded nine infections. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control said two weeks ago that it was stepping up surveillance and preparedness. Nigeria set up an Ebola taskforce in June, after the Congo outbreak began in mid-May.
Dr Jean Kaseya, director general of the Africa Centers for Disease Control, wrote on X that the continent faces an extremely serious threat, with a fatality rate of nearly 50%. He said the outbreak, caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, is already the most geographically extensive in history, affecting several countries across three African regions. The virus has infected more than 9,500 people and killed more than 4,600. The World Health Organization (WHO) has said it is the fastest-spreading outbreak on record and is on track to exceed the deadliest so far, the 2014–2016 epidemic in West Africa, which killed 11,000 people.
