Africa’s latest Ebola outbreak has now touched West Africa, and the response is under scrutiny. The only Nigeria Ebola patient confirmed so far was flown out of Abuja on Monday, while health teams race to follow up everyone she met.
The evacuation
The patient is a 42-year-old Swiss citizen and the wife of a Swiss embassy staffer in Abuja. She had travelled in Uganda with her husband before returning to Nigeria. Health Minister Muhammad Ali Pate said her condition was much improved, stable and communicative, with lab results moving back toward baseline. He added a warning: that does not mean she cannot still infect others.
Tracing 53 contacts
Nigeria Centre for Disease Control boss Jide Idris said 53 primary contacts are now being tracked, after nine more were found over the weekend. The first 44 were health workers, while the new group includes more medical staff, family members and household staff. A suspected case in Rivers State tested negative. Some experts worry about the gap between her arrival on October 3 and the diagnosis announced on October 20.
Screening gaps
Authorities have promised tougher screening for international arrivals. Yet an AFP reporter at the Benin land border saw generic health forms that mentioned fever but not Ebola, with no temperature checks. Domestic flights are not screening at all.
A continental challenge
The outbreak involves the Bundibugyo strain, which has no vaccine or specific treatment. The Democratic Republic of Congo has recorded more than 4,600 deaths since May. Uganda has had 20 cases, including two deaths, but the World Health Organization has declared it Ebola-free, and it now requires 21-day quarantine for people arriving from DRC. Kenya has reported two deaths this month. The WHO calls the outbreak complex, with the virus present in the west, east and centre of Africa.
Nigeria controlled an earlier outbreak a dozen years ago, and many Nigerians remember that success. Keeping that record means closing the screening gaps fast.
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