Nigeria’s first confirmed Ebola patient is the wife of a diplomat who travelled to Uganda’s capital, Kampala, for a vacation, the Director-General of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), Jean Kaseya, has stated.
Mr Kaseya stated the girl, initially from Uganda however resident in Abuja, developed signs three days after returning to Nigeria on 3 October.
Providing particulars of the patient’s medical historical past, Mr Kaseya stated the girl first developed signs on 6 October and initially sought remedy at a non-public hospital, believing she had malaria.
She subsequently visited one other non-public hospital, the place she was admitted on 11 October after her situation failed to enhance.
“She went to the first hospital, a private hospital, thinking that she had malaria, and then she went to the second private hospital. She was admitted on the 11th,” Mr Kaseya informed the BBC’s Newshour programme.
Details of patient’s journey, situation
According to a report by the BBC, Nigeria’s Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, confirmed that the 42-year-old girl spent two and a half weeks in Kampala earlier than returning to Abuja by way of Ethiopia, the place she had a two-hour stopover in Addis Ababa.
Mr Pate stated the patient, who examined constructive for Ebola on Tuesday, was secure and responding to remedy.
“She’s stable, she’s improving,” he stated.
He stated well being authorities had recognized 44 individuals who got here into contact with the patient and had been taking measures to forestall additional transmission.
“Not all of them have been in close proximity. We cast the net wide so that we contain it as broadly as possible,” he informed the BBC.
The minister defined that not one of the recognized contacts, together with the individual who travelled with the patient, had developed signs.
He added that the girl had remained in Abuja since returning to Nigeria.
Mr Pate stated public well being authorities had been alerted on Monday, 19 October, after the patient’s situation failed to enhance.
Her Ebola prognosis was confirmed the next day after three laboratory checks.
Ebola has an incubation interval of two to 21 days, which means an contaminated individual could not develop signs till a number of days or even weeks after publicity.
Ebola spreads by way of direct contact with the blood or different bodily fluids of an contaminated individual, or with contaminated supplies. Symptoms can embrace fever, headache, extreme weak point, vomiting and diarrhoea.
Conflicting accounts of patient’s journey historical past
The newest data from Nigerian authorities and the Africa CDC differs from an earlier account offered by Uganda’s Ministry of Health.
Ugandan authorities had described the patient as a Nigerian nationwide who travelled to jap Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) for enterprise and solely handed by way of Uganda whereas returning house.
The Ugandan authorities maintained that the nation had no energetic confirmed Ebola circumstances and that the girl’s transit by way of Uganda didn’t set up that she contracted the virus there.
However, Mr Pate stated Nigerian authorities had been working with Uganda, Ethiopia and the Africa CDC to ascertain the patient’s full journey historical past and decide the place she may need contracted the an infection.
“We respect our sister nation of Uganda,” he stated. “We have very strong solidarity, we are all in it together.”
Mr Kaseya additionally referred to as for larger information-sharing amongst African international locations to assist investigations into the patient’s actions and potential publicity.
He urged Western international locations to keep away from imposing journey restrictions, stressing that worldwide collaboration and solidarity had been important to containing the outbreak.
Regional outbreak
Nigeria’s confirmed case comes amid an ongoing Ebola outbreak linked to the Bundibugyo virus in the DRC, with infections additionally reported in different international locations.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control reported greater than 9,500 circumstances and 4,602 deaths in the DRC as of 19 October.
Kenya, which confirmed its first imported case in early October, reported a ninth case on Tuesday. Its well being ministry stated all 9 circumstances belonged to at least one recognized cluster, with the eight surviving sufferers responding effectively to supportive care.
The first Kenyan patient had travelled from the DRC by way of Uganda earlier than arriving in Nairobi. The growth has heightened regional considerations in regards to the motion of the virus throughout borders.
Uganda additionally recorded Ebola infections earlier in 2026 however subsequently declared its outbreak over after finishing the required interval and not using a new confirmed case.
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Nigeria’s present case has renewed consideration on the dangers posed by worldwide journey throughout an outbreak, as public well being authorities work to ascertain the supply of an infection and stop additional transmission.
Health authorities have suggested the general public to take care of good hand hygiene, keep away from contact with the bodily fluids of suspected circumstances and promptly report potential publicity to public well being officers.
Nigeria attracts on 2014 expertise
Nigeria beforehand skilled an Ebola outbreak in 2014 after an contaminated traveller arrived in Lagos from Liberia.
The outbreak resulted in 20 circumstances, together with 19 laboratory-confirmed circumstances and one possible case, with eight deaths.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared Nigeria freed from Ebola transmission on 20 October 2014 after the nation accomplished 42 days and not using a new case.
Meanwhile, Mr Pate expressed confidence in the nation’s capacity to include the newest case, citing enhancements in illness surveillance, laboratory capability and the provision of skilled epidemiologists.
He stated Nigeria’s earlier expertise with Ebola was one cause for confidence in the present response.
“We have done it in 2014, and we have good public health institutions,” Mr Pate stated.
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