Nigeria's Health Ministry confirmed an Ebola case in the capital Abuja on October 19, after a woman who arrived from Uganda tested positive for the virus. It is the first time Africa's most populous country has recorded a case in the current outbreak.
According to health authorities, the patient began showing symptoms on October 7 and was admitted to a hospital in Abuja four days later, where she was diagnosed with Ebola. It remains unclear when she entered Nigeria.
Health Minister Muhammad Pate said officials have begun tracing 44 people identified as contacts of the patient. "We are doing everything we can to contain this case by tracing everyone the patient may have come into contact with," he said.
Uganda's Health Ministry said the patient only transited through the country and is a Nigerian woman on a work trip to eastern DR Congo. Nigerian officials have not disclosed the patient's nationality.
"Transit through Uganda does not prove that the infection originated here. The location of exposure is still under investigation," Uganda's Health Ministry said in a statement, adding that the country "has no confirmed active Ebola cases."
Nigeria becomes the latest country to record an Ebola case as the outbreak spreads across the region. Earlier this month, Kenya confirmed its first infection and has since recorded nine cases. Uganda had previously reported Ebola cases but later said the virus had been ruled out.
Dr. Jean Kaseya, director general of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, wrote on X that "we are facing an extremely serious threat," with a fatality rate of nearly 50% of cases.
"This Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak has become the most geographically widespread outbreak in history, affecting multiple countries across three regions of Africa," he said.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control said it stepped up surveillance two weeks ago after Ebola was detected in Kenya and bolstered preparations for a possible outbreak. It said efforts are focused on early detection, isolation and referral, diagnostic testing, infection prevention and control, contact tracing, risk communication and protecting health workers.
Nigeria established an Ebola task force in June, after the outbreak erupted in DR Congo in mid-May.
The spread of Ebola beyond Congo has raised concerns among health officials about the rapid transmission of the rare Bundibugyo virus, which has infected more than 9,500 people and killed more than 4,600.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the current outbreak is the fastest-spreading ever recorded and is on track to surpass the deadliest in history — the 2014-2016 West Africa outbreak that killed 11,000 people.
