Nigeria Confirms First Ebola Case Amid Regional Outbreak

Nigeria's health ministry confirmed that a woman who arrived in Abuja from Uganda tested positive for Ebola. The patient first showed symptoms on 7 October and was hospitalized four days later, where the diagnosis was made. The exact date of her arrival in the country has not been disclosed.

Health Minister Muhammad Pate said authorities have identified 44 contacts and are working to trace all individuals who may have been exposed. > "We are doing everything possible to contain this case by tracing all the contacts the individual may have had," he said.

Uganda's ministry of health clarified that the woman was a Nigerian business traveler who only transited through Uganda en route from the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and that Uganda currently has no active Ebola cases. The ministry added that travel through Uganda does not confirm where the infection was acquired and that the exposure location remains under investigation.

The case follows Kenya's first confirmed infection earlier this month, bringing the total number of affected countries to four. Dr. Jean Kaseya, director general of the Africa Centres for Disease Control, warned on social media that the outbreak poses a serious threat, noting a case-fatality rate of nearly 50 percent.

Nigeria's Centre for Disease Control said it had intensified surveillance after Kenya's case and outlined measures such as early detection, isolation, laboratory testing, infection prevention, contact tracing, risk communication, and protection of health workers. The country established an Ebola taskforce in June following the outbreak that began in the Democratic Republic of Congo in mid-May.

The Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, which has infected more than 9,500 people and caused over 4,600 deaths across the region, is spreading faster than any previous outbreak and could surpass the 2014-2016 West African epidemic that killed 11,000 people, according to the World Health Organization.