Ebola, which began in the Democratic Republic of Congo, has spread to Uganda and Kenya and now Nigeria. The source of the Nigerian patient's infection is not yet established, and because the rare Bundibugyo strain is involved, there is no approved vaccine or treatment.
According to NTD, the outbreak first appeared in the DRC in May this year, then reached Uganda and Kenya, and most recently Nigeria. The outlet said more than 9,500 people have been infected and nearly half have died, calling it the worst Ebola outbreak in Congo's history. These figures are the outlet's own reporting, and this newspaper could not separately verify them against health authority data.
광고 문의 · 300×250The Guardian reported that Switzerland's foreign ministry said on Friday the patient is Nigeria's first Ebola case in more than ten years. She is a woman born in Uganda whose husband is a Swiss diplomat posted in Nigeria. The Rio Times said she traveled from Uganda to the capital Abuja on October 3 and was confirmed to have the Bundibugyo strain.
Conflicting accounts of how she was infected
Swiss officials said she had not been to Congo and may have been infected while traveling with her husband in Uganda. Uganda, however, had said earlier that she visited eastern Congo, so the accounts differ. The Africa CDC found that she and a Kenyan Ebola patient both left Uganda's Entebbe airport on October 3, but it is unclear whether the two had contact there.
Dutch virologist Marion Koopmans cautioned that using the same airport does not by itself show the virus spread there. World Health Organization experts also say travel itineraries and the dates symptoms began need further checking. Nigeria's health minister said the situation is under control and that contacts are being traced to prevent community spread.
How neighbors are responding
According to the Rio Times, Kenya had recorded nine confirmed cases and two deaths by Saturday, with seven patients in isolation. The second death was a 65-year-old woman who had direct contact with the first confirmed patient, and authorities said they found no evidence of community transmission. In Bunia, in the DRC's Ituri Province, a trial of the Tumaini Ebola vaccine began on Saturday.
In South Africa, which has no cases, the health minister placed the health system on high alert and designated 36 public and private hospitals to handle potential patients. Experts warn that the outbreak could grow if countries do not share information quickly. The picture should be rechecked as national health authorities update their official counts.