ABUJA, Nigeria — The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) is assembling a team of leading Ebola scientists to investigate how Nigeria’s first confirmed case in more than a decade contracted the Bundibugyo strain of the virus.

Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya said the team would travel to Abuja to examine the Ugandan-born woman’s possible exposure and establish whether her infection could be linked to cases reported elsewhere in the region.

The woman, the wife of a Swiss diplomat based in Nigeria, had travel documents showing no visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where the ongoing outbreak is concentrated, Kaseya told Reuters.

The investigation is important because identifying the source of infection could help health authorities find unrecognised transmission routes, trace exposed individuals and reduce the risk of further spread.

Nigeria and Kenya Cases Under Investigation

One of the main lines of inquiry is a possible connection between the Nigerian patient and Kenya’s first confirmed case, involving a man who travelled from the DRC through Uganda and later died.

Genomic sequencing has shown that the viruses detected in the two patients are closely related. Both reportedly passed through Uganda’s Entebbe International Airport on October 3, with their flights arriving or departing around 40 minutes apart.

However, scientists have not established that the two patients met or that one directly infected the other. Kaseya said investigators would also consider possible indirect transmission through another person.

The Nigerian patient, whose condition has been improving, reportedly does not remember meeting the Kenyan patient. Investigators will examine additional genomic evidence and the patients’ travel histories to better understand where and how the infections occurred.

Regional Cooperation to Support Investigation

The investigation follows disagreements over the Nigerian patient’s travel history. Ugandan officials had said she travelled to the DRC, while Nigerian authorities indicated that she had visited Uganda without travelling to the outbreak’s epicentre. Swiss authorities have also said she did not visit the DRC.

Kaseya said the countries involved were now willing to cooperate. The team will be led by Congolese virologist Jean-Jacques Muyembe, one of the scientists associated with the discovery of the Ebola virus.

According to the World Health Organization’s October 23 update, the outbreak had recorded 9,704 confirmed cases and 4,687 deaths in the DRC as of October 20. Cases have also been reported in Kenya and Nigeria, while Uganda previously experienced infections during the wider outbreak.

Bundibugyo virus disease can cause fever, vomiting and diarrhoea, and severe cases may involve bleeding. It spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person who has symptoms.

There is currently no approved vaccine or specific treatment for the Bundibugyo strain, making early detection, supportive medical care, contact tracing and cooperation between affected countries central to the response.

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