A 42-year-old Ugandan-born woman living in Abuja had spent about two and a half weeks in Uganda when she began her journey back to Nigeria on 3 October. She travelled through Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with a two-hour stopover. That day, a man travelling from the Democratic Republic of Congo through Uganda arrived in Nairobi. Both passed through Entebbe International Airport.
The woman developed symptoms four days after reaching Abuja, where she was treated at a private clinic. The Kenyan patient died on 5 October, becoming Kenya’s first recorded Ebola death.
The woman tested positive for Ebola on 20 October.
Health officials are investigating whether the two patients crossed paths at Entebbe on 3 October. The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said investigators were considering exposure through shared equipment or other contact at the airport.
Dr Wessam Mankoula, the Africa CDC’s head of emergency preparedness and response, called this “one of the possible scenarios”, while stressing that investigators had established no link.
Officials have yet to determine whether the pair met, used the same facilities or had any other contact at the airport. Dr Patrick Otim, a World Health Organization emergency response official, said: “The source of exposure is still not known. The travel history of the patient is still being pieced together.”
Nigeria is dealing with its first Ebola case in more than a decade. Authorities initially identified 44 contacts of the woman and later found further people who may have been exposed, mainly healthcare workers at facilities where she received treatment and some family members.
Her husband, a Swiss diplomat based in Nigeria, travelled with her to Uganda. He is in isolation and has developed no symptoms.
Kenya has confirmed nine infections, including one death. Dr Patrick Amoth, Kenya’s Health Director-General, said every confirmed infection was linked to the first patient and there was no evidence of wider community transmission.
The remaining eight patients are in isolation and responding well to treatment. Kenya’s first group of people quarantined after possible exposure is due to begin returning home on Sunday after 21 days of monitoring without symptoms.
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