Uganda’s Ministry of Health has urged the public to remain calm after Nigeria confirmed an Ebola case in Abuja involving a woman who had travelled through Uganda, saying the patient’s route did not establish where she contracted the virus.
Nigeria confirmed the infection on Tuesday, October 20, following laboratory tests. The patient was isolated and receiving medical care, while Nigerian authorities identified 44 contacts for follow-up, according to the country’s health ministry.
Uganda’s Director General of Health Services, Prof. Charles Olaro, said the woman had travelled to eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for business and passed through Uganda in early October without showing symptoms.
She developed symptoms after arriving in Nigeria, according to the Ugandan health authorities, who said the location where she contracted the virus remained under investigation.
“We wish to clarify that, as at the time of this statement, Uganda has no confirmed active Ebola cases,” Olaro said.
Government spokesperson Alan Kasujja also sought to reassure the public, saying: “there’s no Ebola in Uganda.”
Ugandan officials said they were awaiting further information from Nigeria on the patient’s travel itinerary and clinical history to help establish her movements and determine whether further contact tracing was necessary.
Nigeria begins contact tracing
Nigeria’s Health Minister, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, confirmed the case in an interview with public broadcaster NTA after laboratory tests returned positive results.
The patient had received treatment at a private hospital in Abuja for several days before the diagnosis was confirmed, Nigerian authorities said. She was subsequently placed in isolation as health officials worked to identify and monitor people who might have been exposed.
“She is in isolation, and she is receiving quality medical care. Contact tracing has been conducted, and it’s under way as we speak, with 44 contacts already identified,” Pate said.
The Nigerian government said it was coordinating the response through its health ministry, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention and other relevant agencies.
“Nigeria successfully contained Ebola in 2014, and we have the experience and public health systems to respond to this case,” Pate said in a separate statement.
Regional outbreak widens
The case comes amid a wider outbreak of Bundibugyo virus disease, a form of Ebola, that began in the DRC in May and has spread beyond the country’s borders.
The outbreak has affected several provinces in the DRC and spread to other countries, making it the most geographically extensive Ebola outbreak recorded, according to Africa’s public health authorities.
Uganda recorded Ebola infections linked mainly to cross-border transmission from the DRC before authorities declared the outbreak over. The World Health Organization and Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention announced the end of the outbreak in Uganda in August.
Neighbouring Kenya has also reported infections linked to a traveller who arrived from the DRC through Uganda. The country’s outbreak had reached nine confirmed cases by October 20, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Africa CDC Director General Dr. Jean Kaseya said the agency had begun mobilising support for Nigeria as authorities responded to the latest case.
The regional spread has increased the importance of surveillance, timely diagnosis and coordination among countries whose populations regularly cross borders for business, trade and other activities.
Uganda strengthens border surveillance
Uganda’s Ministry of Health said it was working with relevant agencies to strengthen screening and public health measures at points of entry.
The measures follow the confirmation of the infection in Nigeria and come as health authorities seek to prevent further cross-border transmission.
Officials have urged the public to maintain good hygiene, including regular handwashing, and to follow updates issued through official Ministry of Health channels.
The location where the woman contracted Ebola had not been established in the information available from the authorities. Her transit through Uganda alone does not confirm that she acquired the infection there.
