Ebola Outbreak Spreads: WHO Confirms 'More Complex' Situation Across Three African Nations

The World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that the Ebola outbreak originating in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is becoming increasingly complex, with confirmed cases now appearing in multiple countries across East and West Africa. This development comes as health authorities are actively investigating the origins of Nigeria’s first confirmed case, identified this week. The investigation raises questions about a potential encounter between the Nigerian patient and Kenya’s first patient at a Ugandan airport.

"We are facing a more complex outbreak landscape," stated Mohamed Janabi, WHO regional director for Africa, during an online media briefing on Thursday. Nigeria reported its initial case of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola on Tuesday, marking it as the fourth African country and the most populous to be affected by the outbreak that began in the DRC in mid-May and has resulted in over 4,000 deaths there.

Kenya, DRC, and Nigeria currently have active or recent cases of the Bundibugyo strain. Uganda had cases earlier in the year but has since been declared Ebola-free. The Nigerian patient is identified as the Ugandan-born wife of a Swiss diplomat residing in Abuja. Ugandan authorities reported that she had traveled to eastern DRC before transiting through Uganda. However, the WHO and Africa’s primary health agency stated on Thursday that they had not received confirmed information verifying her travel to the DRC. A statement from the Swiss government to Reuters indicated that the patient is believed to have contracted the disease while traveling within Uganda.

Wessam Mankoula, head of Emergency Preparedness and Response at the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), announced on Thursday that both the first Nigerian case and the first Kenyan case departed from Entebbe on October 3. A possible encounter between them is currently under investigation. Ugandan authorities have refuted the suggestion that the patient was infected within the country. Government spokesman Alan Kasujja told AFP that linking Uganda to the case solely because she had vacationed there was “preposterous.” However, Mankoula noted the absence of validated information confirming her visit to the DRC, and Jean Kaseya, the Africa CDC director general, echoed this sentiment. Pavel Ursu, the WHO representative in Nigeria, stated that the information provided to the organization did not include any travel outside of Uganda. Patrick Otim, a WHO emergency response manager, confirmed on Thursday that the source of her infection remains unknown as health authorities work to reconstruct her travel history. Investigators are examining which health facilities in Abuja she visited between the onset of symptoms and her hospitalization 48 hours later.

Kenya’s Ministry of Health confirmed its first case earlier this month and has since reported eight additional cases. Patrick Amoth, the Health Ministry’s director-general, reported that officials have successfully traced all 135 contacts of the initial case. Nigeria is currently tracing 44 contacts, with Mankoula indicating that more have been identified since the initial count, though a precise new number was not provided.

The current outbreak is the deadliest in the DRC’s history, according to the country’s health authorities, claiming over 4,000 lives out of more than 9,000 confirmed cases since May. Neighboring Uganda recorded 20 confirmed cases, including 15 imported from the DRC, and two deaths, before being declared Ebola-free in August. The Africa CDC has issued a warning of an “extremely serious threat,” with the fatality rate in the DRC nearing 50 percent.