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The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has disclosed that Nigeria’s index patient for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola was born in Uganda and arrived in Abuja with her husband on October 3, 2026.
The agency’s Director-General, Dr Jean Kaseya, made the disclosure on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Thursday, saying the patient’s travel history was important to efforts to trace the source of the infection and prevent further spread.
Kaseya said the Africa CDC was engaging authorities in Nigeria, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to establish the patient’s movements and possible exposure to the virus.
“I am talking to all authorities with Nigerian authorities, with Ugandan authorities, even to DRC authorities. But we are lucky that this person we know today, without any doubt, is a Ugandan-born person who went to Uganda and she was there for some days. Then the husband flew to join her in Uganda then they came back to Abuja on October 3. This is a fact,” he said.
The Africa CDC chief urged the patient to provide details of her movements, including whether she had travelled to the DRC, left Kampala or had contact with anyone who arrived from the neighbouring country.
He said the information would help health authorities coordinate their response and prevent diplomatic tensions among African countries.
“I think this is the information we are looking for. It will help all of us to avoid crisis between African countries,” Kaseya said.
Despite concerns over the outbreak, he said Africa was better prepared to respond to public health emergencies and urged against panic.
Kaseya also raised concerns about the absence of an approved vaccine specifically for the Bundibugyo strain, arguing that vaccine development and access should not be limited by where an outbreak occurs.
He disclosed that clinical trials were under way for new vaccine candidates, including one developed in Egypt for the Bundibugyo strain. He added that the Africa CDC had worked with authorities in the DRC and Uganda to facilitate clinical trials and compassionate use of a vaccine targeting the Zaire strain.
“We don’t want to see Africa left behind again. We have the knowledge. We have people with intelligence,” he said, adding that the continent had the capacity to manufacture vaccines, medicines and diagnostic tools.
The Federal Government confirmed Nigeria’s Ebola case in the Federal Capital Territory on Tuesday. Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Pate, said the patient had been isolated and was receiving medical care, while contact tracing had begun.
Pate disclosed that 44 contacts had been identified and that surveillance had been strengthened at the country’s entry points.
The National Assembly has also called for urgent measures to prevent further transmission. The Senate urged the Federal Government to provide emergency funding for disease surveillance and enforce health screening at international airports, seaports and designated land borders.
The House of Representatives called for increased public awareness and early preparation of isolation facilities.
Meanwhile, the Federal Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development directed the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria to place 46 identified contacts of the Ebola patient on a no-fly list for at least 21 days.
