Nigeria's first Ebola case in the current outbreak is a Ugandan-born diplomat's wife who fell ill after a holiday in Kampala. Health officials have traced 44 contacts as they work to prevent the virus spreading.
01Summary
- 01The patient, a 42-year-old woman, returned to Abuja on 3 October and developed symptoms three days later, initially thought to be malaria.
- 02She was diagnosed with the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola on Tuesday after three laboratory tests, following admissions to two private hospitals.
- 03Nigeria's health minister confirmed she spent two and a half weeks in Kampala and had a two-hour stopover in Addis Ababa on her return.
- 04Forty-four contacts have been placed in isolation, none yet showing symptoms.
- 05The outbreak in DR Congo has claimed at least 4,600 lives since May, with infections also reported in Uganda and Kenya.
02Why it matters
This case highlights the risk of cross-border spread of Ebola and the challenges of detection, as symptoms mimic malaria. Nigeria's response, drawing on its 2014 outbreak experience, is critical to containing a wider outbreak in West Africa.
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