Nigeria confirms Ebola case after 13 days without testing as outbreak spans four African countries
Nigeria confirmed its first Ebola case in more than a decade: a woman in Abuja who had travelled from Uganda. Reuters reports she was not tested until 13 days after falling ill; authorities have identified 44 contacts. The Bundibugyo outbreak has also affected the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Kenya, and Africa CDC has called an emergency meeting for October 28.
Bottom line — Africa CDC’s October 28 meeting will address an outbreak that has infected more than 9,500 people in the DRC alone.
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Reuters says the woman sought care at several facilities after initially suspecting malaria; testing confirmed Ebola on October 19.
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The patient’s travel history is disputed: Uganda said she had travelled to eastern DRC, while Nigerian officials said they had no confirmed evidence of that trip.
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Nigeria’s health minister said 44 people had been identified as contacts; Africa CDC chief Jean Kaseya warned the number could rise after the delayed diagnosis.
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TASS reported 9,704 confirmed cases and 4,687 deaths in the DRC, while Reuters and other reports gave lower totals.
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The Bundibugyo strain has no approved vaccine or specific treatment, according to Reuters and the WHO coverage cited by the outlets.
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Kenya had reported nine cases linked to its first cluster; RFI and AOL reported that authorities were also searching for a Ugandan contact they could not locate.
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Uganda reported 20 cases before the WHO declared its outbreak over in August. Uganda has rejected claims that the Nigerian patient contracted Ebola there.