ABUJA: Ebola disease from the fast-moving outbreak in Congo has now spread to four other countries, including two where it’s active. It has spread farther across Africa than any previous Ebola outbreak, reaching three regions.
Nigeria on Tuesday became the latest country affected by the outbreak, which was first declared in eastern Congo in mid-May. Caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus for which there’s no approved vaccine or drug, the outbreak has killed at least 4,600 of the 9,500 people infected in Congo.
The World Health Organization has said it is the fastest-growing outbreak of Ebola in history. In Africa, it’s been recorded in the central, western and eastern regions.
A recurring problem in the spread in Africa is what appears to be lax surveillance efforts as most of the first cases were confirmed long after people started showing symptoms or after traveling.
Here is where things stand in other countries affected by this Ebola outbreak:
The patient in Nigeria had returned from Uganda
Nigeria confirmed an Ebola infection in its capital, Abuja, in a woman who arrived from Uganda about two weeks ago.
The woman began showing symptoms on Oct. 7 and was admitted to a private hospital in Abuja on Oct. 11, where she was later diagnosed with Ebola.
It is still unclear when she arrived in Nigeria. Health Minister Muhammad Pate said authorities had begun tracing 44 people identified as contacts of the patient and were “doing everything possible to contain this case.”
Uganda reported 20 cases; none are active
Uganda confirmed an Ebola outbreak on the same day as neighboring Congo after detecting the infection in a man traveling from Congo.
The first cases in Uganda were Congolese patients who crossed the border to seek treatment for an unknown illness before it was known they had Ebola, according to health authorities.
The Uganda outbreak was declared over by WHO on Aug. 27, after 20 confirmed cases, including 15 patients from Congo. Eighteen people recovered and two died. More than 800 contacts were identified and monitored, and the country said Tuesday that it has no new cases.
Kenya’s first patient traveled from Congo via Uganda
Kenya announced its first Ebola case on Oct. 6, involving a man who traveled from Congo via Uganda before arriving in the capital, Nairobi, on Oct. 3.
He tested positive for Ebola on Oct. 5 and died the same day.
Ebola cases in Kenya have increased to nine, including four relatives of the first patient and four health workers.
Authorities have also identified 135 contacts linked to the nine patients, with 134 in quarantine. Kenya’s Health Ministry said there was still no evidence of transmission beyond known contacts of the first patient.
France is the only non-African country to record a case
France in June confirmed a positive case of Ebola in a doctor traveling back from Congo, making it the first and only country outside Africa to have recorded a case in this outbreak.
The individual returned from a humanitarian mission in one of the virus transmission zones in Congo and was taken into care at a specialized facility in France. The person recovered and was discharged on July 4, according to WHO.