Nigeria confirms first Ebola case as outbreak spreads in region

Nigeria has confirmed its first Ebola case in the capital, Abuja, after a woman who had travelled from Uganda tested positive for the virus, the health ministry announced. The patient began showing symptoms on 7 October and was admitted to a hospital in Abuja four days later, where she was subsequently diagnosed with Ebola.

Health Minister Muhammad Pate stated that authorities had begun tracing 44 people identified as contacts of the patient, saying the government was doing everything possible to contain the case. Uganda's health ministry clarified that the woman had only transited through the country and was a Nigerian national who had been on a business trip to eastern Congo. It emphasized that transit through Uganda does not establish that infection occurred there and insisted Uganda currently has no confirmed active Ebola cases.

Nigeria becomes the latest country affected by the expanding regional outbreak, following Kenya, which confirmed its first case earlier this month and has since recorded nine infections. As Africa's most populous nation, Nigeria's involvement raises significant concern among international health officials about the outbreak's potential spread, given the country's dense population and extensive travel links both within the continent and internationally.