Ebola reaches Nigeria: woman from Uganda tests positive in Abuja – 44 contacts traced
Nigeria reports its first Ebola case of the current outbreak, and authorities are tracing 44 contacts. Kenya now has nine cases, and more than 4,300 people have died overall.
Archive image · Photo: Mr Trinity001 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
Nigeria has confirmed its first Ebola case in the current outbreak. According to the health ministry, a woman who had arrived from Uganda tested positive in the capital Abuja. She developed symptoms on 7 October and was admitted to a private hospital on 11 October. Authorities are tracing 44 contacts. "We are doing everything possible to contain this case by tracing all the contacts the individual may have had," Health Minister Muhammad Pate said. Uganda had previously declared itself free of the virus.
Kenya confirmed its ninth case on Tuesday, a close relative of its first patient who was already in quarantine. All cases belong to one cluster, health official Patrick Amoth said. The outbreak of the Bundibugyo virus, for which there is no licensed vaccine, began in Congo in May. According to AP, more than 9,000 people have been infected and more than 4,300 have died. The WHO describes it as the fastest-spreading Ebola outbreak on record.