Nigeria confirms first Ebola case as Kenya reports ninth infection

Nigeria has confirmed its first Ebola case in the current regional outbreak after a woman who travelled through Uganda tested positive in Abuja, the country’s health ministry said.

The patient began showing symptoms on October 7 and was admitted to a hospital four days later. Nigerian authorities have identified 44 contacts, including health workers, patients, caregivers and travel contacts, and have begun tracing them.

Uganda’s health ministry said the woman was a Nigerian national returning from a business trip to eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and had only transited through Uganda. It said the location of her exposure remained under investigation and that Uganda had no confirmed active Ebola cases. Nigerian authorities have not publicly disclosed the patient’s nationality.

Kenya, meanwhile, has confirmed nine infections in its first recorded Ebola outbreak. Its initial patient travelled from DR Congo through Uganda before arriving in Nairobi on October 3 and died two days later. The other eight cases—including relatives, health workers and a hospital cleaner—are linked to that patient.

Kenya’s health ministry said the eight surviving patients were improving with supportive care and that 134 of 135 identified contacts had been traced and quarantined. Authorities said there was no evidence of transmission beyond the known cluster.

The outbreak involves the relatively rare Bundibugyo species of Ebola. According to the BBC, no approved vaccine or treatment is available for that species, although trials are underway.