Nigerian health authorities, the most populous country in Africa, reported that the first Ebola case detected in the national territory belongs to the Bundibugyo strain, the same one responsible for the epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The patient's health condition, identified as a diplomat, significantly worsened.
Olajumoke Babatunde, director of public health laboratory services at the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, confirmed that molecular tests were conducted at three levels and that the identified strain was Bundibugyo. Another official detailed that the diplomat reached a state of multiple organ failure.
The Nigerian Minister of Health, Ali Pate, clarified that the patient had recently arrived in Nigeria from a flight originating in Uganda. She was hospitalized in a private hospital in the capital, Abuja, where she received treatment for several days before the diagnosis was confirmed. Symptoms began on October 7, and she was admitted to Abuja on October 11.
This new occurrence comes after Uganda registered Ebola cases, although it was later declared free of the virus. Nigeria thus becomes the latest country to report a case, following Kenya, which confirmed its first case earlier this month and recorded a total of eight cases.
Two weeks ago, Nigeria's Centre for Disease Control (CDC) had already announced that it would intensify surveillance due to the detection of Ebola in Kenya, reinforcing national preparedness for a possible outbreak. The Nigerian CDC emphasized that these efforts include early detection, isolation, laboratory diagnosis, contact tracing, infection prevention and control, as well as risk communication and healthcare worker protection.
Kenya is the fourth country to report a case related to the DRCongo epidemic, joining Uganda, France, and the Netherlands. In Uganda, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the end of the outbreak on August 26, after accounting for 20 confirmed cases, 15 of which were imported from the DRCongo, resulting in two deaths.
Given the recent cases in Kenya and Nigeria, the African Union's (AU) public health agency convened a virtual meeting for October 28 with the continent's Health Ministers to address the 'growing threat' of the Ebola virus. The Africa CDC statement highlighted that five months after the start of the response, the outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo virus persists in the DRCongo, and there have now been notifications in Kenya and Nigeria.
The note also pointed out that the geographical spread of Ebola across Central, East, and West Africa 'requires urgent and coordinated action.' The meeting will allow authorities to assess the situation, strengthen cross-border coordination, accelerate assistance to affected countries, and improve continental preparedness.
The epidemic in the DRCongo is cited as the second deadliest in world history, having generated 9,552 confirmed cases and 4,602 deaths, according to the latest official tally collected up to October 18. Ebola is a highly transmissible virus, transmitted through direct contact with the body fluids of infected individuals, such as blood and vomit, or by touching contaminated surfaces and materials, such as bedding and clothing.
