A health care worker administered an Ervebo vaccine dose against the Ebola virus in Beni, North Kivu province, eastern Congo, on October 16. Sebastien Kitsa Musayi/AP.
LAGOS, Nigeria — Nigeria confirmed an Ebola case in Abuja, its capital, on Tuesday. The Health Ministry reported that a woman from Uganda tested positive for the virus. She exhibited symptoms on October 7 and was admitted to a private hospital in Abuja by October 11, where the diagnosis was made.
Health Minister Muhammad Pate stated that tracing efforts are underway for 44 contacts related to the patient. “We are doing everything possible to contain this case by tracing all the contacts the individual may have had,” he said.
Previously, Uganda had reported Ebola cases but later declared itself free from the virus. Now, Nigeria is the latest nation affected as the outbreak spreads across the region. Earlier this month, Kenya confirmed its first case of Ebola and has since recorded nine infections.
Dr. Jean Kaseya, director general of the Africa Centers for Disease Control, highlighted on X that there is a significant threat, with a nearly 50% fatality rate of cases. “This Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak has already become the most geographically extensive in history,” affecting multiple countries across three African regions, he noted.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control announced an increase in surveillance after detecting Ebola in Kenya. The agency is enhancing the country’s readiness for a possible outbreak. Their efforts include early detection, isolation, referral, laboratory diagnosis, infection prevention, control, contact tracing, risk communication, and protecting health care workers.
Following the Congo outbreak in May, Nigeria set up an Ebola task force in June. Femi Gbajabiamila, chief of staff to President Bola Tinubu, emphasized the importance of preparedness, “We do not want a repeat of what happened during the last outbreak when a carrier entered the country, and everyone was scrambling to respond.” He affirmed that much progress was made to address potential threats.
The spread beyond Congo has intensified concerns about the rapid transmission of the rare Bundibugyo virus. Over 9,000 infections and 4,300 deaths have been attributed to this Ebola outbreak. The current spread is the fastest on record and could surpass the deadliest West African outbreak from 2014 to 2016, which claimed 11,000 lives, according to the WHO.
Nigeria was impacted during that outbreak, reporting 20 cases before declaring it over in three months.
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