The Director-General of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), Dr Jean Kaseya, has said health authorities are yet to establish where Nigeria’s confirmed Ebola patient contracted the virus.
Kaseya disclosed this on Thursday during an appearance on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, explaining that the patient’s arrival from Uganda did not necessarily mean she was infected in the country.
He said investigations were ongoing to determine the source of the infection and establish the circumstances surrounding the case.
“What we know is that the lady came from Uganda, but what we don’t know is whether it is a transmission from Uganda, Kampala, or a transmission that came from another place,” Kaseya said.
He added that further discussions with Ugandan authorities would depend on the outcome of the investigations.
“When we have answers to these questions, I will go back to Uganda to discuss the issue,” he stated.
The Africa CDC chief also noted that Uganda had announced the end of its Ebola outbreak, although the circumstances surrounding the Nigerian case remained under investigation.
“From what I know now, Uganda has declared the end of the outbreak,” he said.
Kaseya disclosed that the Africa CDC was engaging with authorities in Nigeria, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to trace the origin of the infection and prevent the situation from escalating into a diplomatic dispute.
He explained that determining the source of the virus was essential to ensuring that countries involved could coordinate their public health responses based on verified information.
According to the information he provided, the patient is a Nigerian-born woman who lives in Abuja and arrived in the Federal Capital Territory with her husband on October 3 after spending time in Uganda.
However, Uganda’s Ministry of Health had earlier offered additional details about her travel history, stating that the Nigerian national had travelled to eastern DRC for business before passing through Uganda.
The Ugandan authorities maintained that travelling through the country did not establish that the woman contracted Ebola there.
Nigeria confirmed its first case in the current incident on October 20, prompting the Federal Government to activate emergency public health measures to contain the infection.
Health authorities have since commenced contact tracing, intensified surveillance and strengthened infection prevention measures at the hospital where the patient received treatment.
The government also urged healthcare facilities to remain vigilant and report suspected cases promptly, while advising the public to avoid spreading unverified information.
Ebola spreads through direct contact with the blood or other body fluids of an infected person who is showing symptoms, as well as contaminated materials.
The ongoing investigations are expected to clarify the patient’s exposure history and help public health authorities determine the appropriate response to prevent further transmission.
