Ebola detected in woman arriving from Uganda; alarm in Nigeria's capital as authorities trace 44 contacts

An Ebola case has been confirmed in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria. The country's Health Ministry confirmed the presence of the Ebola virus in a woman who arrived from Uganda. The announcement on Tuesday has spread alarm across the country.

The woman began showing symptoms on October 7. She was admitted to a private hospital in Abuja on October 11, where tests confirmed Ebola. Health Minister Muhammad Pate said authorities had begun tracing 44 people identified as contacts of the patient.

'We are doing everything possible to contain this case by tracing all the contacts the individual may have had,' the health minister said.

Uganda had previously reported Ebola cases but later declared itself free of the virus. Yet the outbreak spreading from there is now expanding across several African countries. Kenya confirmed its first case earlier this month and has since recorded nine infections.

Dr. Jean Kaseya, director general of the Africa Centers for Disease Control, wrote on social media platform X: 'We are facing an extremely serious threat,' noting a fatality rate of nearly 50 percent in this outbreak.

According to the World Health Organization, the current Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak is the fastest-spreading on record. More than 9,000 people have already been infected and over 4,300 have died. It has become the most geographically extensive Ebola outbreak in history, affecting several countries across three regions of Africa.

Experts fear this outbreak could surpass West Africa's regional outbreak of 2014–2016, which killed 11,000 people. Nigeria was one of the affected countries then, recording 20 cases over three months.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control had stepped up surveillance two weeks ago following the detection of Ebola in Kenya and strengthened the country's preparedness for a potential outbreak. The agency said efforts focused on early detection, isolation and referral, laboratory diagnosis, infection prevention and control, contact tracing, risk communication and protection of health care workers.

Nigeria established an Ebola task force in June following the outbreak in Congo in mid-May. When the task force was announced, Femi Gbajabiamila, chief of staff to President Bola Tinubu, said: 'We do not want a repeat of what happened during the last outbreak when a carrier entered the country, and everyone was scrambling to respond.'

The spread of Ebola beyond Congo has heightened longstanding fears among health authorities about the rapid transmission of the rare Bundibugyo virus, especially as cases are now being detected in crowded capital cities.

Infection-control measures have been reinforced at the Abuja hospital. The Health Ministry has advised the public not to panic but to follow hygiene guidelines and seek medical help promptly if symptoms appear.

International health agencies are monitoring the situation closely. Nigerian authorities say vaccine stocks and medical supplies have been kept ready. Much will depend on the test results of the traced contacts in the coming days.