Nigeria confirms Ebola case in Abuja after woman arriving from Uganda tests positive
Nigeria has confirmed its first Ebola case in the current outbreak, with the health ministry saying a woman who arrived in Abuja from Uganda tested positive. Authorities have begun tracing 44 of her contacts.
Nigeria confirms Ebola case in Abuja after woman arriving from Uganda tests positive
Nigeria has recorded an Ebola case in its capital after a woman who arrived in the country from Uganda tested positive for the virus, the health ministry said. Health minister Muhammad Pate said contact tracing of 44 people identified as her contacts has begun.
How the Abuja case emerged
The patient began showing symptoms on 7 October and was admitted to a hospital in Abuja four days later, where she was diagnosed with Ebola.
- It is unclear when she arrived in Nigeria, Africa's most populous country.
- Nigerian authorities have not disclosed her nationality.
Contact tracing under way
Health minister Muhammad Pate said authorities had begun tracing the 44 people identified as contacts of the patient. He described the effort to contain the Abuja Ebola case:
We are doing everything possible to contain this case by tracing all the contacts the individual may have had.
Uganda says infection did not happen there
According to Uganda's health ministry, the woman is Nigerian and was returning from a business trip to Congo's eastern region, with Uganda serving only as a transit point on her journey.
Travel through Uganda does not establish that infection occurred here. The location of exposure remains under investigation.
The ministry said that in a statement, adding that the country has no confirmed active Ebola cases. Uganda had previously reported Ebola cases but later declared itself free of the virus.
Regional spread and Nigeria's preparedness
The case comes amid a wider Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in Africa. Kenya confirmed its first case earlier this month and has since recorded nine infections. According to the report, the Bundibugyo virus has infected more than 9,500 people and killed more than 4,600. The WHO has said the latest outbreak is the fastest-spreading on record and is on track to exceed the deadliest, the 11,000 people killed in West Africa's regional outbreak between 2014 and 2016.
Dr Jean Kaseya, director general of the Africa CDC, said on X that "we are facing an extremely serious threat", citing a fatality rate of nearly 50% of cases.
This Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak has already become the most geographically extensive in history, affecting several countries spread across three regions of Africa.
Nigeria had already taken steps ahead of the Abuja case. Two weeks ago the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control said it was stepping up surveillance following the detection of Ebola in Kenya and strengthening the country's preparedness, and it set up an Ebola taskforce in June after the outbreak in Congo in mid-May. Authorities in Abuja are now tracing the patient's 44 identified contacts, while Uganda's health ministry says the location of exposure remains under investigation.
