Ebola in Abuja: NCDC identifies patient as diplomat with Bundibugyo Strain

…condition deteriorates into multi-organ failure

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has identified the patient diagnosed with the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola virus in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as a diplomat whose condition has deteriorated into multi-organ failure.

Olajumoke Babatunde, NCDC’s director of public health laboratory services, disclosed this on Wednesday during an emergency incident management meeting in Abuja, saying laboratory tests confirmed the strain responsible for the infection.

“We did three levels of tests, but all were molecular. The strain was Bundibugyo,” Babatunde said.

Another official at the meeting confirmed that the patient was a diplomat but did not disclose her nationality. The official also said her condition had deteriorated into “multi-organ failure”.

The development comes a day after the Federal Government confirmed an Ebola case in the FCT, identifying 44 close contacts for monitoring as health authorities intensify efforts to prevent further transmission.

Muhammad Pate, the coordinating minister of health and social welfare, said the patient is a woman who recently arrived in Nigeria on an international flight from Uganda.

According to the minister, she was admitted to a private hospital in the FCT, where she received treatment for several days before the infection was confirmed. According to Pate, she is currently in isolation and receiving medical care.

He said the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the NCDC were working with the FCT Health Services Secretariat and other relevant authorities to contain the infection and prevent further spread.

The federal government has also identified  44 close contacts identified so far, and has commenced contact tracing.