Nigeria confirms Ebola case in Abuja as woman who arrived from Uganda tests positive

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria confirmed an Ebola case in its capital, Abuja, on Tuesday after a woman who arrived from Uganda tested positive for the virus, the Health Ministry said.

The woman began showing symptoms on Oct. 7 and was admitted to a private hospital in Abuja on Oct. 11, where she was later diagnosed with Ebola.

Health Minister Muhammad Pate said authorities had begun tracing 44 people identified as contacts of the patient. “We are doing everything possible to contain this case by tracing all the contacts the individual may have had,” he said.

Uganda had previously reported Ebola cases but it later declared itself free of the virus.

Nigeria is the latest country to report an Ebola case as the latest outbreak spreads across the region. Kenya confirmed its first case earlier this month and has since recorded nine infections.

Dr. Jean Kaseya, director general of the Africa Centers for Disease Control, said on X that “we are facing an extremely serious threat,” with 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,” he said.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control said two weeks ago it was stepping up surveillance following the detection of Ebola in Kenya and strengthening 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 agency said.

Nigeria established an Ebola task force in June following the outbreak in Congo in mid-May.

“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,” Femi Gbajabiamila, chief of staff to President Bola Tinubu, said when the task force was announced. “We have covered a lot of ground and established structures to address any potential threat.”

The spread of Ebola beyond Congo has heightened longstanding fears among health authorities about the rapid transmission of the rare Bundibugyo virus, which has infected more than 9,500 people and killed more than 4,600 people.

The latest outbreak is the fastest-spreading Ebola outbreak on record and is on track to exceed the deadliest on record, West Africa’s regional outbreak between 2014 and 2016, which killed 11,000 people, WHO has said. Nigeria was one of the countries affected, recording 20 cases before it was declared over in the country after three months.

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AP’s Africa coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/africa

Ope Adetayo, The Associated Press