Ebola in Nigeria: Virus Strain, Patient Condition and Uganda’s Reaction

On Tuesday, Nigeria confirmed its first Ebola case in over a decade. The case is recorded in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

A woman who arrived in Nigeria on October 3 on an international flight from Uganda imported the disease into the country.

The patient, a diplomat, was admitted to a private hospital in the FCT after showing signs of ill health. She received medical care for several days at the facility before the diagnosis was confirmed.

She is currently in isolation and receiving medical care.

Since the Ebola outbreak was declared in the Democratic Republic of Congo in mid-May, the virulent viral haemorrhagic fever has spread to several countries across the continent, including neighbouring Uganda.

The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, said contact tracing has begun, with 44 close contacts identified so far, including healthcare workers, patients, caregivers, and travel contacts.

He stated that the Federal Government, through the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), is working with FCT health authorities to contain the infection and prevent further spread

Virus strain and condition of patient

On Wednesday, NCDC disclosed that the Ebola case detected in Nigeria is the Bundibugyo strain which is responsible for the major epidemic in Dr Congo.

“We did three levels of tests, all molecular. The strain was Bundibugyo,” Olajumoke Babatunde, director of the public health laboratory service at the NCDC, said.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) also confirmed that it was the Bundibugyo strain, for which there is still neither a vaccine nor a specific treatment.

“This person is actually a diplomat,” another official said, adding the patient has deteriorated into “multi-organ failure”. The official did not disclose the nationality of the diplomat.

Uganda authorities refute Nigerian government claim

No sooner had the Nigerian government confirmed an Ebola case in the country than the authorities in Uganda issued a statement clearing the air on the matter.

The Nigerian government has not disclosed the nationality of the patient but Kampala stated she is a Nigerian who was in Congo, where the latest wave of the Ebola epidemic began.

In a statement issued after Pate’s comment, Charles Olaro, Director-General of Health Services in the East African country, clarified that the patient is a Nigerian.

Olaro said the woman had travelled to Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which has over nearly 10,000 active cases with 4,500 deaths from Ebola, for business and transited through Uganda in early October.

According to Olaro, she showed no symptoms while in Uganda but developed symptoms after arriving in Nigeria.

“Travel through Uganda does not establish that infection occurred here. The location of exposure remains under investigation,” the ministry said.

“The Government of Nigeria is yet to provide detailed information on her travel itinerary and clinical history, which will guide further investigations and any necessary contact tracing.

“We wish to clarify that, as at the time of this statement, Uganda has NO confirmed active Ebola cases.”

The Ugandan government said it had maintained limited provisions for humanitarian and diplomatic movement, adding that it would strengthen screening and public health controls at points of entry.

In August, Uganda was declared Ebola-free officially by the WHO after recording 20 cases — almost all people who had travelled from the DRC.

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