A woman who arrived in Abuja on October 3 on an international flight from Uganda has tested positive for Ebola, making Nigeria's capital the latest city to confirm a case linked to the ongoing outbreak. Health minister Muhammad Ali Pate addressed the media on Tuesday, describing the situation as "contained" and confirming the patient is in isolation and receiving care. Authorities are currently monitoring 44 contacts.
The patient, a Nigerian national, had travelled to eastern DRC on business before passing through Kampala without symptoms, according to Uganda's director general of health services, Charles Olaro. She was treated at a private hospital in Abuja for several days before a diagnosis was made. The strain involved is Bundibugyo, first identified in western Uganda in 2007, and there is currently no available vaccine for it.
The broader outbreak was declared in the DRC in mid-May, and the World Health Organization named it a public health emergency of international concern that same month. It has since claimed 4,650 lives, almost all in the DRC. Beyond Nigeria, cases have now been recorded in Uganda, the Netherlands, and Kenya.
Kenya is managing its first-ever Ebola outbreak this month, with nine cases tied to a single cluster. The country's first patient travelled from DR Congo and died two weeks ago. Uganda, meanwhile, reports no confirmed active cases at this time.
Nigeria has moved quickly, but with the Bundibugyo strain spreading across borders and no vaccine in sight, the coming weeks will be telling.
Originally published by African Business.