Uganda has denied having any confirmed active Ebola cases after Nigeria reported an imported case of Ebola Bundibugyo virus disease involving a woman who travelled through Uganda from the Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC.
Nigeria confirmed the case on Tuesday, with the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, stating that the woman arrived in Nigeria from Uganda.
The patient was isolated and treated with 44 contacts monitored as NCDC activated its incident management system.
Uganda’s Ministry of Health clarified that the woman merely passed through the country in early October without showing any symptoms, and only began to fall ill after arriving in Nigeria.
“Travel through Uganda does not establish that infection occurred here,” the ministry said, stressing that “as at the time of this statement, Uganda has NO confirmed active Ebola cases.”
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Uganda stated that Nigeria has not yet shared comprehensive details about the woman’s travel itinerary or clinical history, which are needed to support further investigations and contact tracing.
Afterwards, Dr Emmanuel Agogo, an international global health consultant urged Nigeria and Uganda to reconcile the travel history of Nigeria’s confirmed Ebola case.
for coordinated investigations and transparent information-sharing between Nigeria and Uganda to reconcile conflicting reports about the travel history of Nigeria’s confirmed Ebola case.
He said that as the investigation continued, reconciling the patient’s travel records and establishing a consistent account of events would be important to understanding the case and guiding the public health response.
The World Health Organisation, WHO, said it is supporting Nigerian health authorities with case investigation, contact tracing, infection prevention and control, and essential supplies, including personal protective equipment.
WHO urged countries across the region to maintain heightened surveillance and readiness as the Ebola outbreak in the DRC continues to evolve, noting that Kenya has also reported nine cases linked to an imported infection.
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