African Health Agency Investigates Ebola Contact at Ugandan Airport
Officials are examining whether the first confirmed cases in Kenya and Nigeria interacted while transiting through Entebbe International Airport.
By Adewale Rousseau ·
Health authorities are investigating a potential link between the first confirmed Ebola cases in Kenya and Nigeria.
The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated on Thursday that they are reviewing whether the two patients made contact at an airport in Uganda. This inquiry follows the announcement that Nigeria recorded its first Ebola case in over ten years on Tuesday.
The Nigerian patient is the wife of a diplomat stationed in Abuja. She was born in Uganda, spent time there in September, and returned to Nigeria earlier this month. Nigerian health officials confirmed that she is currently receiving treatment. Authorities have placed 44 close contacts in quarantine while they determine how she was initially exposed to the virus.
Geographic factors make the Nigerian case a distinct development in the current outbreak. As the most populous nation on the continent, Nigeria is the fourth country to report an infection in this cycle. It is the first country in West Africa to record a case and is located farthest from the epicenter in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The current outbreak began in eastern Congo in May and has spread faster than any previous incident. At least 4,600 people have died in Congo, with approximately 9,700 infections reported. Neighboring Uganda initially recorded about 20 cases but was declared free of the virus in August. Kenya reported its first case in early October, followed by eight additional confirmed infections. The first Kenyan patient, who has since died, traveled from Congo to Kenya via Uganda.
Both the Kenyan and Nigerian patients were present at Entebbe International Airport on the same day. Dr. Wessam Mankoula, who leads emergency preparedness and response at the Africa CDC, said the agency is looking into whether there was some sort of interaction between the two cases at the airport.
Ebola transmits through direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person or through contaminated items. The disease causes severe fever and can be fatal. Individuals are generally not considered infectious until symptoms appear.
Source: NPR
