A health care worker administered a dose of the Ervebo vaccine against the Ebola virus in Beni, North Kivu province, eastern Congo, on October 16. This administration of vaccines is part of ongoing efforts to combat the Ebola virus in affected regions.
On Tuesday, Nigeria confirmed a case of Ebola in its capital, Abuja. This followed the positive test result of a woman who had arrived from Uganda, as stated by the Health Ministry. The woman began showing symptoms on October 7 and was admitted to a private hospital in Abuja on October 11, where she was diagnosed with Ebola.
Health Minister Muhammad Pate announced that authorities had already started tracing 44 individuals identified as contacts of the patient. He stressed the importance of the tracing efforts to contain the case quickly. “We are doing everything possible to contain this case by tracing all contacts the individual may have had,” he emphasized.
Previously, Uganda reported Ebola cases but later declared itself free of the virus. Nigeria’s recent confirmation makes it the latest country to report an Ebola case in the current outbreak sweeping across the region.
Earlier this month, Kenya confirmed its first case, leading to a total of nine infections. Dr. Jean Kaseya, director general of the Africa Centers for Disease Control, highlighted the urgent nature of the crisis on platform X. “We are facing an extremely serious threat,” he mentioned, noting a fatality rate of nearly 50% of cases. “This Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak has already become the most geographically extensive in history, affecting several countries spread across three regions of Africa,” stated Dr. Kaseya.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) noted two weeks prior that it was increasing surveillance efforts following Ebola’s detection in Kenya and enhancing the country’s preparedness for a potential outbreak. “These efforts have focused on early detection, isolation and referral, laboratory diagnosis, infection prevention and control, contact tracing, risk communication, and protection of health care workers,” the NCDC detailed.
In June, Nigeria created an Ebola task force after an outbreak in Congo in mid-May prompted concern. Femi Gbajabiamila, chief of staff to President Bola Tinubu, elaborated, “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. We have covered a lot of ground and established structures to address any potential threat.”
The transmission of Ebola beyond Congo has intensified concerns among health authorities about the rapid spread of the rare Bundibugyo virus. This virus has infected more than 9,000 individuals and led to over 4,300 deaths.
The rapid spread of the current outbreak is unprecedented, potentially surpassing the most severe outbreak on record. The West Africa outbreak between 2014 and 2016 caused over 11,000 deaths, with Nigeria recording 20 cases before it was declared over in the country after three months, according to the World Health Organization.