Nigeria has confirmed its first case of Ebola, involving the wife of a diplomat based in Abuja, who had recently traveled to Uganda for a holiday. The 42-year-old patient, originally from Uganda, fell ill three days after returning to Nigeria's capital on October 3.
According to Dr. Jean Kaseya, head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), the woman spent two and a half weeks in Kampala, Uganda's capital. She also made a brief stopover in Ethiopia's capital on her return journey. Nigeria's Health Minister Muhammad Ali Pate confirmed these details to the BBC, stating that the patient is currently stable and improving.
Health authorities have identified 44 individuals who had contact with the woman, who tested positive for Ebola on Tuesday. Pate explained that the contact tracing efforts were designed to cast a wide net to ensure containment. None of the contacts, who are now in isolation, have yet developed symptoms, including the person who traveled with the patient. The minister added that the woman had not traveled outside of Abuja since her arrival.
The patient first developed symptoms on October 6, seeking medical help at two private hospitals where she was admitted on October 11. Initially, her symptoms, including a high temperature, headaches, and muscle aches, were thought to be malaria, a disease endemic in Nigeria. Public health authorities were alerted on October 19 when her condition did not improve, and her diagnosis was confirmed the following day after laboratory tests.
The incubation period for Ebola ranges from two to 21 days. Ebola is a rare but deadly viral disease that can cause vomiting, diarrhea, and in severe cases, organ failure and bleeding. It spreads through direct contact with infected bodily fluids.
The current Ebola outbreak, which began in May in the Democratic Republic of Congo, has resulted in at least 4,600 deaths and over 9,500 cases, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Uganda also reported cases shortly after the outbreak began, but declared itself free of the disease in August.
There had been some conflicting accounts regarding the patient's movements. The Ugandan Ministry of Health had previously stated the woman was a Nigerian national who had traveled to eastern DR Congo for business, only transiting through Uganda. However, Nigerian officials and the Africa CDC have emphasized close collaboration with Ugandan and Ethiopian authorities to establish the full timeline and potential source of infection.
Minister Pate expressed confidence in Nigeria's ability to manage the situation, citing the country's experience in successfully containing an Ebola outbreak in 2014, which resulted in 20 confirmed cases and eight deaths. He noted strengthened disease surveillance, laboratory capacity, and a large pool of trained epidemiologists as key strengths. "Nigeria has muscle memory that has been activated," Pate said, while stressing the need for continued vigilance.