Conflicting accounts of Nigeria’s first confirmed Ebola patient’s travel history have prompted the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) to call for full disclosure of her movements and contacts before arriving in the country.
Africa CDC Director-General, Jean Kaseya, made the appeal during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, saying the information would help investigators establish where the woman contracted the virus.
He said the patient, who is originally from Uganda but resides in Abuja, spent about two and a half weeks in Kampala before returning to Nigeria on October 3 with her husband, a diplomat.
Kaseya said authorities were investigating whether she travelled outside Kampala or had contact with anyone who might have been exposed to the virus, including people from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
“What we want is collaboration from this person, the lady. She has to disclose to the authorities”, he said.
Nigeria’s Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, said the 42-year-old woman developed symptoms on October 6 and initially sought treatment for suspected malaria before testing positive for Ebola.
He said the patient was stable and responding to treatment, while health authorities had identified 44 contacts for monitoring.
Ugandan authorities, however, had earlier said the woman travelled to eastern DR Congo for business and passed through Uganda on her return to Nigeria. They maintained that her transit through the country did not establish where she contracted the virus.
Kaseya called for closer cooperation between the countries to resolve the discrepancies and strengthen the response.
The case comes amid Ebola transmission in parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Kenya. Uganda, which previously recorded cases of the Bundibugyo strain, declared its outbreak over in August.
The World Health Organisation is supporting Nigeria with investigations, contact tracing, laboratory testing and infection prevention measures, while urging the public to remain calm.
