Health authorities in Nigeria are tracing 44 contacts after a woman tested positive in Abuja, while Kenya reported its ninth case linked to the spreading Bundibugyo virus.
Nigeria confirmed an Ebola case in its capital, Abuja, on Tuesday after a woman who arrived from Uganda tested positive for the virus, federal health authorities announced.
The patient first developed symptoms on Oct. 7 and was admitted to a private hospital in Abuja on Oct. 11, where tests confirmed Ebola, PBS NewsHour reported. Nigerian officials haven’t disclosed when she arrived in the country or what nationality she holds. Health Minister Muhammad Pate said contact tracers have begun tracking 44 people who interacted with her, noting, “We are doing everything possible to contain this case by tracing all the contacts the individual may have had.”
Uganda’s Ministry of Health stated that the patient is a Nigerian woman who had traveled to the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo on business and merely passed through Uganda on her return journey. Ugandan officials said travel through their country doesn’t prove transmission happened there, adding that the location of exposure remains under investigation and that Uganda currently has no active Ebola cases. Uganda had recorded cases earlier in the outbreak before declaring itself free of the virus.
Kenya identifies ninth infection in family cluster
On the same day, Kenya confirmed another Ebola infection, raising the country’s total number of cases to nine, according to Al Jazeera. Kenya’s Ministry of Health identified the newest patient as a 24-year-old man who was isolated, tested and treated as soon as symptoms appeared because he was already in quarantine.
The man is a close relative of Kenya’s first patient, who passed through Uganda after traveling from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and died at a hospital in Nairobi on Oct. 5. Patrick Amoth, Kenya’s director-general for health, said all nine cases in the country belong to that single cluster and haven’t shown evidence of broader spread. Amoth said eight patients remain stable and are responding well to medical care, while 134 of 135 identified contacts have been found and quarantined. Kenyan health officials noted that no transmissions have occurred inside quarantine centers, and contacts who finish the 21-day observation window without symptoms may return home starting Oct. 25. Kenyan authorities haven’t placed limits on travel, gatherings or commerce.
Outbreak history and lack of treatments
The regional surge stems from an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo that began in mid-May, where case totals have climbed past 9,000 and deaths have reached at least 4,000. Across all affected nations, the rare Bundibugyo virus has infected more than 9,500 people and killed over 4,600. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has classified it as the second-largest Ebola epidemic on record, while the World Health Organization reported it is the fastest-spreading outbreak documented to date. It is currently on track to surpass West Africa’s 2014 to 2016 epidemic, which caused 11,000 deaths. During that earlier outbreak, Nigeria managed to stop transmission after 20 cases over three months.
Controlling the current crisis has proved difficult because health agencies have no approved vaccine or targeted treatment for the Bundibugyo strain. Dr. Jean Kaseya, director general of the Africa Centers for Disease Control, warned on X that “we are facing an extremely serious threat,” pointing to a fatality rate of nearly 50% across cases. Kaseya added that the outbreak has become the most geographically extensive in history, spreading across three regions of Africa.
Nigeria’s response measures
Nigeria established an Ebola task force in June after the outbreak emerged in Congo. Femi Gbajabiamila, chief of staff to President Bola Tinubu, said at the time that the government set up administrative structures to avoid the scramble that occurred when an infected traveler entered the country during the 2014 epidemic.
Two weeks ago, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control ramped up national surveillance following Kenya’s first detection. The agency said its preparedness work has centered on laboratory diagnosis, early detection, isolation, contact tracing, infection control, risk communication and protection for health workers.
