WHO Warns Ebola Outbreak Is Growing “More Complex” as Nigeria Confirms First Case
The World Health Organization (WHO) says the Ebola outbreak that began in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is becoming more complex, with cases now present in East and West Africa.
“We are facing a more complex outbreak landscape,” Mohamed Janabi, WHO’s regional director for Africa, told an online media briefing on Thursday.
Nigeria reported its first case of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola on Tuesday. It is the fourth African country, and the most populous, affected by an outbreak announced in DRC in mid-May. Kenya, DRC and Nigeria all have active or recent cases of the strain. Uganda had cases earlier in the year but was declared Ebola-free in August.
Health authorities are still trying to find out where Nigeria’s first patient was infected. She is the Ugandan-born wife of a Swiss diplomat based in Abuja. Uganda’s authorities say she travelled to eastern DRC before transiting through Uganda. WHO and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) say they have received no confirmed information that she went to DRC. A Swiss government statement says she is believed to have contracted the disease while travelling in Uganda.
Uganda rejected that suggestion. Government spokesman Alan Kasujja called it “preposterous” to link Uganda to the case simply because she had holidayed there.
Africa CDC’s head of emergency preparedness and response, Wessam Mankoula, said both the Nigerian patient and Kenya’s first patient left Entebbe on October 3, and that a possible encounter between them is under investigation. WHO emergency response manager Patrick Otim said the source of her infection is still unknown. Investigators are also looking at which Abuja health facilities she visited between the onset of symptoms and her hospitalization 48 hours later.
Nigeria is tracing 44 contacts, and Mankoula said more have since been identified. Kenya’s Health Ministry confirmed its first case earlier this month. Health Ministry director-general Patrick Amoth said officials have traced all 135 contacts of that case.
The outbreak is the deadliest in DRC’s history, according to the country’s health authorities. It has killed more than 4,000 people out of more than 9,000 confirmed cases since May. Africa CDC has called it an “extremely serious threat,” with the fatality rate in DRC approaching 50 percent. Uganda recorded 20 confirmed cases, including 15 imported from DRC, and two deaths before it was declared Ebola-free.