On Thursday, October 22, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak had become more complex after Nigeria confirmed an imported case, extending the outbreak’s reach into West Africa.
Nigeria announced the case on October 20. The patient was a woman who had travelled from Uganda. She was diagnosed in Abuja, where she is receiving care in isolation.
She arrived in Nigeria on October 3. She developed symptoms four days later. She sought care at a private health facility on October 11.
Officials have not established where she was infected. Health authorities had identified 44 contacts and were monitoring them. They were also strengthening measures to prevent infections at the facility where the patient was treated.
Investigators are examining whether she may have encountered Kenya’s first patient at an airport in Uganda. That possibility has not been confirmed. Kenya had reported nine cases.
By mid-October, the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo had passed 9,000 confirmed cases and 4,000 deaths. Nigeria is the fourth African country affected. It is the fifth country overall to detect the virus since the outbreak began in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in May.
WHO is supporting tracing, testing and measures to prevent infections. WHO has advised against travel or trade restrictions on affected countries.