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Ebola Patient's Congo Travel Questioned by Health Agencies
22 Oct
Summary
- WHO and Africa CDC lack confirmed info on Nigerian Ebola patient's Congo travel.
- Nigeria's first Ebola case involves a Ugandan woman recently in Uganda.
- Kenya traced all 135 contacts of its first Ebola case.
The World Health Organization and Africa's top health agency have stated they have not received confirmed information regarding Nigeria's first Ebola patient traveling to Congo. This comes after Ugandan authorities suggested the woman, who was diagnosed in Nigeria, had also visited Congo. Nigerian health officials reported the case involved a Ugandan woman who had recently returned from Uganda.
Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) official Wessam Mankoula noted that Nigeria and Uganda are collaborating to establish the patient's movements. He stated there is no validated information that the case traveled to the Democratic Republic of Congo. The WHO representative to Nigeria confirmed the patient returned to Abuja on October 3 after being in Uganda since September 16, with no mention of travel outside Uganda.
In a separate development, Kenyan health officials announced that all 135 contacts of Kenya's first Ebola case have been traced. This includes a Ugandan citizen who arrived in Kenya on the same day as the index patient, traveling from Entebbe airport. The Africa CDC is investigating a possible link between the Kenyan and Nigerian cases due to their concurrent travel from Entebbe.
Ebola, a rare species with a high fatality rate, spreads through direct contact with infected bodily fluids. The current outbreak has claimed approximately 4,700 lives across four African nations. Health authorities are focused on containing the infection in Nigeria, where the patient's condition is improving.
