A confirmed Ebola case in Nigeria spent two and a half weeks in Uganda’s capital before returning to Abuja, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC). The 42-year-old woman, who lives in Nigeria but is originally from Uganda, developed symptoms three days after arriving in Abuja on October 3, officials said.
The woman, whose husband is a diplomat, first visited a private hospital in Nigeria on October 6, believing she had malaria. She was admitted to a second private facility on October 11, according to Jean Kaseya, head of Africa CDC. Nigeria’s health minister, Muhammad Pate, confirmed her travel history, stating she had spent two and a half weeks in Kampala and made a brief two-hour stopover in Ethiopia’s capital before returning to Nigeria.
Pate noted the patient has remained stable and improving, with no symptoms detected among the 44 people identified as having had contact with her. “We cast the net wide so that we contain it as broadly as possible,” he said. However, her travel history has been disputed by Ugandan authorities, which described her as a Nigerian national who transited through Uganda after visiting the Democratic Republic of Congo for business.
Read Also: Small Businesses Face Higher Costs Under Proposed Card Surcharge Ban
Uganda’s Ministry of Health insisted there were no active Ebola cases in the country and that the woman’s passage through Kampala did not confirm exposure there. The conflicting accounts have raised questions about where the patient may have contracted the virus.
Nigerian officials are coordinating with Uganda and Ethiopia, along with Africa CDC, to clarify her movements. Pate emphasized cooperation between countries, stating, “We respect our sister nation of Uganda.” Kaseya urged African nations to share information quickly to trace the infection source and warned Western countries against imposing travel bans, arguing that solidarity would be more effective than restrictions.
Leave a Reply