Nigeria has confirmed its first Ebola case in the current regional outbreak after a woman who arrived from Uganda tested positive in Abuja, the Federal Ministry of Health said on Tuesday.
Health Minister Muhammad Ali Pate said the patient is in isolation and receiving medical care at a private hospital in the capital. Authorities have identified 44 contacts and have begun monitoring them.
The woman began showing symptoms on October 7 and was admitted to a private hospital in Abuja on October 11, where she was later diagnosed with Ebola. Laboratory tests confirmed the viral infection on Monday. It is unclear when exactly she arrived in Nigeria.
"She is in isolation, and she is receiving quality medical care. Contact tracing has been conducted, and it's under way as we speak, with 44 contacts already identified," Pate told public broadcaster NTA.
"We are doing everything possible to contain this case by tracing all the contacts the individual may have had," he added.
The case is an imported one. Uganda's Ministry of Health said in a statement late on Tuesday that the patient is a Nigerian woman who had traveled to eastern Democratic Republic of Congo for business and transited through Uganda in early October without symptoms.
"Travel through Uganda does not establish that infection occurred here. The location of exposure remains under investigation," the ministry said. It insisted Uganda has "no confirmed active Ebola cases" at this time.
The infection is linked to the Bundibugyo strain outbreak first declared in the Democratic Republic of Congo on May 15. According to the World Health Organization, sequencing of samples from the outbreak confirms it is the same strain. WHO said Nigeria is now the fifth country to detect the virus in this outbreak.
Nigeria is the latest country to report a case as the outbreak spreads across regions. Kenya confirmed its first case earlier this month and has since recorded nine infections. DR Congo has been at the center of the response.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control said two weeks ago it was stepping up surveillance following the detection of Ebola in Kenya and strengthening preparedness. The agency said it has activated its response mechanisms and intensified infection prevention measures at the hospital where the patient was treated.
Nigeria has previous experience containing Ebola. In 2014, the country successfully stopped an outbreak after 20 cases and eight deaths.
The Health Ministry urged the public to remain calm, avoid contact with body fluids of symptomatic persons, practice regular hand hygiene, and report suspected symptoms to health authorities through the NCDC hotline 6232.
