Nigeria confirms Ebola case in patient who arrived from Uganda

Health Minister Muhammad Ali Pate told the public broadcaster that the female patient had traveled from Uganda in East Africa.Follow us on GoogleHealth workers and humanitarian responders on the front lines of the Ebola response gather to receive a vaccination due to their potential exposure to the virus as part of their work with suspected cases, including contacts, as aid agencies intensify efforts to contain the Ebola outbreak involving t(photo credit: REUTERS/Gradel Muyisa Mumbere)OCTOBER 21, 2026 08:23Nigeria's government said on Tuesday there was a case of Ebola in the capital, Abuja, after laboratory tests confirmed the viral infection.Health Minister Muhammad Ali Pate told the public broadcaster that the female patient had traveled from Uganda in East Africa."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.Uganda's Health Ministry said in a public statement late on Tuesday that the patient had traveled to eastern Democratic Republic of Congo for business and transited Uganda in early October without symptoms before developing symptoms after arriving in Nigeria."Travel through Uganda does not establish that infection occurred here. The location of exposure remains under investigation," the ministry said, adding that Uganda had "no confirmed active Ebola cases" at the time of the statement.Health workers and humanitarian responders on the front lines of the Ebola response receive vaccination in Beni Friday, 16th October 2026 (credit: REUTERS/Gradel Muyisa Mumbere)Pate said in a statement that the patient had been admitted to a private hospital in Abuja, where she had received care for several days before the diagnosis was confirmed."Nigeria successfully contained Ebola in 2014, and we have the experience and public health systems to respond to this case," the minister said in the statement.An Ebola outbreak was declared in the Democratic Republic of Congo in mid-May and has since grown into the world'ssecond-largestoutbreak ever, caused by the rare Bundibugyo strain.Uganda declared Ebola-free in AugustUganda reported 20 cases in May and June, mostly imported from Congo, but was declared free of the virus by the World Health Organization in August.Kenya has reported nine Ebola cases this month, all linked to a person who had traveled from Congo.Africa's top public health agency has started mobilizing support for Nigeria, said its head, Jean Kaseya."This Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak has already become the most geographically extensive in history, affecting ... countries spread across three regions of Africa," Kaseya said in a post on X.Follow us on Google