The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) says it has yet to determine where Nigeria’s confirmed Ebola patient contracted the virus, despite her recent travel through Uganda.
The agency’s Director-General, Dr Jean Kaseya, disclosed this during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Thursday.
Kaseya said the patient’s travel history was not sufficient to conclude that she contracted the virus in Uganda, adding that investigations were ongoing to establish the source of the infection.
“What we know is that the lady came from Uganda, but what we don’t know is whether it is a transmission from Uganda, Kampala, or a transmission that came from another place,” he said.
He added that the agency would engage Ugandan authorities once investigations had established where the infection originated.
“From what I know now, Uganda has declared the end of the outbreak,” Kaseya said.
According to him, the Africa CDC is working with health authorities in Nigeria, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to trace the source of the infection and prevent the situation from escalating into a diplomatic dispute.
Kaseya disclosed that the patient is a Nigerian-born woman who lives in Abuja. She arrived in the Federal Capital Territory with her husband on 3 October after spending time in Uganda.
However, Uganda’s Ministry of Health had earlier said the woman travelled to eastern DRC for business before passing through Uganda.
The ministry emphasised that the woman’s transit through Uganda did not establish that she contracted the virus there.
Nigeria confirmed the Ebola case on Tuesday, prompting health authorities to investigate the source of the infection and take measures to prevent further transmission.
