9,500 infected as Ebola reaches fourth African nation
Conflicting travel histories for a Swiss diplomat's spouse complicate the search for the source of Nigeria's first confirmed case in over a decade.
By Elijah Fitzgerald ·
The Ebola outbreak, which began in the Democratic Republic of Congo in mid-May, has expanded to include Nigeria, marking the first confirmed case in that country in more than ten years. Health officials across the continent are now focused on determining how the virus reached the fourth nation, a development that raises concerns about the speed and scope of the spread.
The Swiss foreign ministry identified the patient on Friday as the Ugandan-born wife of a Swiss diplomat stationed in Abuja. The ministry stated that she had not visited the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the outbreak originated. Instead, officials believe she contracted the virus while traveling in Uganda with her husband. This account contradicts earlier reports from Ugandan authorities, who said the woman had traveled to eastern DR Congo.
The discrepancy between the Swiss and Ugandan accounts has intensified scrutiny over how the outbreak is being contained. Uganda reported cases in May and June, and the World Health Organization declared the country free of the virus in August. A Ugandan government spokesperson told Reuters on Thursday that the country currently has no active cases and would announce any changes in status publicly.
Investigations are currently examining a potential link to a case in Kenya. Dr. Wessam Mankoula, head of emergency preparedness and response at the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, noted that the Nigerian patient and a Kenyan patient both passed through Entebbe airport on October 3. Catherine Smallwood, a WHO Ebola incident manager, stated that while the airport connection is possible, officials must compare the timing of the travel with the onset of symptoms to determine if it is the likely source of infection.
Experts remain cautious about the airport theory. Marion Koopmans, a virologist on the WHO emergency committee, described the hypothesis as speculative without evidence that the two individuals shared the same space in a way that would facilitate transmission. She noted that simply being present at a large airport is not considered a supported epidemiological link under current standards.
Nigeria’s health minister, Muhammad Ali Pate, said the case is contained and that contact tracing is ongoing. He emphasized the effort to prevent the virus from moving into surrounding communities. Melaku Yirga, vice-president for Africa at Prosper Global, urged nations to share information across borders without delay and to provide frontline workers with the resources needed for rapid response.
The outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the virus, for which no approved vaccine or treatment exists. Since the announcement on May 15, more than 9,500 people have been infected, and nearly half of them have died. It stands as the largest outbreak in DR Congo’s history and the second largest globally, behind the 2014 to 2016 epidemic in West Africa that infected more than 28,600 people.
