Uganda says transit does not prove Nigeria's Ebola patient was infected there

Uganda's Ministry of Health said in a statement late on 20 October that a Nigerian woman who has tested positive for Ebola passed through Uganda in early October, and that "travel through Uganda does not establish that infection occurred here", Xinhua reported on 21 October. The ministry said Uganda has no confirmed active Ebola cases.

The ministry said the woman had travelled to the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on business before transiting Uganda. She showed no symptoms in Uganda and fell ill after reaching Nigeria on an international flight from Uganda, it said. Where she was exposed is still under investigation, and Nigerian authorities have not yet given the detailed itinerary and clinical history needed for investigation and contact tracing, the ministry said.

Nigeria confirmed the case on 20 October, the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Africa said in a news release that day. It is an imported case of Bundibugyo virus disease in Nigeria's Federal Capital Territory. WHO called Nigeria the fifth country to detect the virus since the outbreak was declared in the DRC on 15 May 2026. WHO describes the patient as a woman with recent travel to Uganda. Nigeria's Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Ali Pate, said the woman had recently arrived from Uganda on an international flight, Xinhua reported.

Her symptoms began on 7 October, four days after she arrived in Nigeria. She sought care at a private health facility in Abuja on 11 October, and laboratory tests confirmed the virus on 20 October. She is in isolation and receiving medical care.

Forty-four contacts have been identified and are being monitored. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has activated its incident management system, infection prevention and control is being stepped up at the facility where she sought care, and investigators are trying to establish the likely source of infection. WHO and partners are helping with case investigation, contact tracing and supplies such as protective equipment. The release also says Kenya has reported nine cases in recent weeks.

Africa CDC, the African Union's public health agency, said in a statement issued late on 20 October that it is supporting Nigeria, intensifying its response in the DRC and Kenya, and staying vigilant in Uganda. Its Director-General, Jean Kaseya, said the outbreak must not be allowed to spread to more countries or continue for another year, and called it the most geographically widespread Ebola outbreak in history. He said mortality in the DRC is approaching 50 per cent. "Africa's health security is global health security," he said.

Kaseya asked the international community for immediate, flexible financing, medical supplies, diagnostics, trained responders and stronger community-based surveillance. Africa CDC declared a public health emergency of continental security in May 2026.

Bundibugyo virus is one of three viruses WHO lists as known to cause large Ebola outbreaks, alongside Ebola virus and Sudan virus. WHO's fact sheet says it spreads through direct contact with an infected person's blood or body fluids, or with contaminated objects, that the incubation period runs from 2 to 21 days, and that people are not contagious before symptoms appear. There is no approved vaccine or treatment for Bundibugyo virus disease, the fact sheet says. Contacts are followed for 21 days.

WHO advised countries in the region to keep up surveillance and rapid alert investigation, make sure laboratories can safely test suspected cases, keep response and clinical teams ready, reinforce infection prevention and control in public and private facilities, and heighten monitoring at points of entry. "WHO advises against any restriction of travel to, or trade with, affected countries," the release says. WHO said its risk assessment is being reviewed regularly.