Ebola cases in Nigeria, Kenya probed for possible airport link

Health officials are investigating a possible connection between Ebola patients in Nigeria and Kenya who both passed through Uganda’s Entebbe International Airport on 3 October. Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention officials said on Thursday, 22 October, that shared equipment or another form of contact was among the possibilities under examination—but no link had been established.

BBC News reported that investigators had not determined whether the two patients met, used the same facilities or had any contact. Dr Wessam Mankoula, Africa CDC’s head of emergency preparedness and response, described an airport connection as one possible explanation. A common source of infection is also being investigated.

Nigeria has reported its first Ebola case in more than a decade. Kenya has confirmed nine infections, including one death.

Nigerian patient’s exposure remains unresolved

The Nigerian patient is a 42-year-old Ugandan-born woman living in Abuja. According to the World Health Organization, she is receiving treatment in isolation, is stable and has shown improvement.

She returned to Nigeria on 3 October after spending about two and a half weeks in Uganda. Her journey included a two-hour stopover in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Symptoms began four days after she reached Abuja, and she attended two private healthcare facilities before testing positive for Ebola on 20 October.

Switzerland’s foreign ministry confirmed to Reuters that she is married to a Swiss diplomat stationed in Nigeria. Her husband travelled with her to Uganda and is also in isolation, but has not developed symptoms.

WHO emergency response official Dr Patrick Otim said the location of her exposure was still unknown. Investigators have had limited opportunities to interview her during her hospital stay, leaving parts of her travel history unresolved.

Ugandan health officials had previously said she visited eastern Democratic Republic of Congo for business, where the current outbreak began. However, the WHO, Africa CDC and Nigeria’s health ministry said they had not received verified information confirming that visit. Uganda maintains that it has no confirmed active Ebola cases and says transit through the country does not establish that infection occurred there.

Sequencing and contact tracing under way

Nigeria’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention said it was conducting genomic sequencing to help assess whether the woman’s infection is related to other cases. WHO representative in Nigeria Dr Pavel Ursu said reconstructing her travel and exposure history was also central to the investigation.

Africa CDC said authorities had identified more potential contacts beyond the 44 initially reported. Most were healthcare workers at facilities where the woman received treatment; some were family members.

Mankoula did not provide a revised total, saying the Nigerian government would release its findings. He said authorities were working to identify and quarantine contacts assessed as high risk.

Kenya reports no evidence of wider community spread

The Kenyan patient whose journey is being examined had travelled from DR Congo through Uganda before reaching Nairobi on 3 October. He later died, becoming Kenya’s first recorded Ebola death in the current outbreak.

Kenya’s Health Director-General Dr Patrick Amoth said all nine confirmed infections were linked to that first patient, with no evidence of broader community transmission. The eight surviving patients remained in isolation and were responding well to treatment.

The first group of people quarantined after possible exposure is due to begin returning home on Sunday, 25 October, after completing 21 days of monitoring without symptoms. Amoth urged continued vigilance rather than panic.

Cross-border surveillance and the limits of the airport theory

The investigation highlights surveillance challenges along the DR Congo–Uganda border, which thousands of people cross daily for commerce, employment and family visits. Otim said unofficial crossing points along the long, porous border made comprehensive screening difficult.

WHO regional director for Africa Dr Mohamed Janabi urged countries to strengthen surveillance, investigate infections and protect frontline healthcare workers.

Ebola spreads through direct contact with an infected person’s blood or other bodily fluids, or contaminated objects—not through the air in the way flu can. People are not considered infectious before symptoms develop. Passing through the same airport on the same date therefore does not, by itself, demonstrate transmission.

The disease can cause fever, profound weakness, vomiting and diarrhoea, and can be fatal. Health authorities emphasise rapid contact tracing, isolation of suspected cases and early treatment to limit further infections.