Nigeria's First Ebola Case: Diplomat's Wife Who Holidayed in Uganda Sparks 44-Person Contact Trace

Nigeria's first confirmed Ebola case since the East African outbreak began in May is the wife of a diplomat who travelled to Uganda's capital for a holiday, the head of Africa's health agency has told the BBC.

The woman, originally from Uganda but based in Abuja, fell ill three days after arriving home on 3 October, according to Dr Jean Kaseya of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. Nigeria's health minister, Muhammad Ali Pate, confirmed to the BBC that the 42-year-old spent two and a half weeks in Kampala and also made a two-hour stopover in Ethiopia's capital on her return.

"She's stable, she's improving," Pate said, adding that authorities had identified 44 people who had been in contact with the woman, who tested positive on Tuesday. “Not all of them have been in close proximity. We cast the net wide so that we contain it as broadly as possible.”

None of the contacts, now in isolation, are known to have developed symptoms including the person the patient travelled with. The woman has not travelled outside Abuja since landing, Pate said.

How the case unfolded

Kaseya said the woman first developed symptoms on 6 October and sought help at a private hospital, thinking she had malaria a disease endemic in Nigeria with symptoms similar to Ebola, including high fever, headaches, muscle aches and vomiting. After her condition failed to improve at a second private hospital, where she was admitted on 11 October, public health authorities were alerted on Monday 19 October. Her diagnosis was confirmed the next day following three laboratory tests.

Ebola's incubation period ranges from two to 21 days, meaning those exposed may not fall ill for weeks. The virus spreads through contact with infected bodily fluids such as blood or vomit, and as it progresses can lead to organ failure and, in some cases, internal and external bleeding.

Pate and Kaseya's comments contradict an earlier statement from Uganda's health ministry, which described the woman as a Nigerian national who had travelled to eastern DR Congo for business and only transited through Uganda. It insisted there were no active Ebola cases in the country and that her passage did not mean she contracted the virus there.

Both officials sought to play down any tension. "We respect our sister nation of Uganda," Pate said. "We have very strong solidarity, we are all in it together." Kaseya urged African countries to share information to help trace the woman's movements and establish where she contracted the virus, and encouraged Western countries not to impose travel restrictions.

The outbreak in DR Congo, which began in May, has claimed at least 4,600 lives with more than 9,500 cases recorded, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. It is caused by the rare Bundibugyo species of Ebola, for which there is no approved vaccine or treatment though trials are under way. Uganda, which reported at least two deaths, declared itself free of the disease in August. Kenya has since reported at least nine infections, prompting the US to advise citizens to reconsider travel there.

Nigeria contained a 2014 Ebola outbreak that produced 20 confirmed cases and eight deaths. Pate expressed confidence in repeating that success, citing strengthened surveillance, laboratories and thousands of trained epidemiologists. "Nigeria has muscle memory that has been activated, but we are not fighting the past outbreak in exactly the same way. We have to be vigilant," he said.