Health officials across Africa are racing to determine how Nigeria's first Ebola patient in more than a decade became infected, amid fears that the outbreak could spread further after reaching a fourth African country.
Background
The Swiss foreign ministry reported on Friday that the patient in Nigeria is the Ugandan-born wife of a Swiss diplomat based in Abuja. She is believed to have contracted the virus while traveling with her husband in Uganda. This new information contradicts earlier accounts from Uganda, which stated that the woman had traveled to eastern DR Congo, where the outbreak was first detected in mid-May.
Current Situation
The World Health Organization (WHO) is currently investigating the likely source of infection for the Ebola patient in Nigeria. The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention is also looking into whether the patient may have come into contact with an Ebola patient in Kenya, as both traveled from Uganda’s Entebbe airport on October 3.
Dr. Wessam Mankoula, head of emergency preparedness and response at the Africa CDC, stated that investigations are ongoing. Catherine Smallwood, a WHO Ebola incident manager in DR Congo, mentioned during a UN briefing that there is no evidence showing the patient in Nigeria had traveled to DR Congo. However, she noted that a link to the case in Kenya is possible, pending further investigation.
