Nigeria’s First Ebola Patient Visited Uganda for Holiday Before Abuja Diagnosis, Africa CDC Chief Says

Nigeria’s first confirmed Ebola patient in more than a decade is the wife of a diplomat who spent about two and a half weeks in Uganda’s capital, Kampala, before returning to Abuja, according to the head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr Jean Kaseya.

Kaseya told the BBC that the 42-year-old woman, who is originally from Uganda but lives in Abuja, developed symptoms three days after arriving in Nigeria on October 3. Nigeria’s Health Minister, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, confirmed that she had spent around two and a half weeks in Kampala and made a two-hour stopover in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on her return journey.

Pate said the patient was stable and improving while receiving medical care. She tested positive for Ebola on Tuesday, prompting health authorities to intensify efforts to contain the infection and prevent further transmission.

The minister said authorities had identified 44 people who had come into contact with the woman. He explained that investigators had deliberately widened their contact-tracing efforts to ensure that anyone potentially exposed could be identified. According to Pate, none of the identified contacts was known to have developed symptoms at the time of his interview.

Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo separately said 46 people had been placed on a no-fly restriction. The group reportedly comprised 44 people who had contact with the patient in hospital and two people who worked in her home. Nigeria has also strengthened surveillance at international airports, including temperature checks, health screenings, travel monitoring and digital health declarations.

Kaseya said the woman first developed symptoms on October 6 and initially sought treatment at a private hospital, believing she might have malaria. She later visited a second private hospital and was admitted on October 11. The overlap between early Ebola symptoms and illnesses such as malaria can make initial identification difficult, underscoring the importance of timely testing and infection-control measures.

The patient reportedly had not travelled outside Abuja since arriving in Nigeria. Pate said the government was working to contain the infection, while authorities continued monitoring people who may have been exposed. Neighbouring Cameroon also increased surveillance at airports and ports in response to the regional health concern.

Although the woman travelled through Uganda and Ethiopia, the supplied report does not establish where she contracted Ebola. Health authorities’ priority remains identifying possible exposures, monitoring contacts and preventing further spread. The patient’s improving condition and the absence of reported symptoms among contacts were encouraging developments, but continued surveillance remained essential.