Fresh details have emerged about the Ebola virus strain detected in Nigeria.
Health officials confirmed that the Bundibugyo strain has no approved vaccine or specific treatment.
An aviation official disclosed that the infected woman arrived in Nigeria on October 3. She travelled aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Uganda.
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that the information is helping ongoing investigations into the source of the infection.
The woman, whose nationality has not been disclosed, was identified as a diplomat by an official who spoke during an emergency meeting of health authorities in Abuja on Wednesday, October 21.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) confirmed that laboratory tests identified the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, which has previously caused outbreaks in parts of Africa.
Olajumoke Babatunde, Director of Public Health Laboratory Services at the NCDC, disclosed the result during the meeting.
“We did three levels of tests, but all molecular. The strain was Bundibugyo,” Babatunde said.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) also confirmed the strain and stated that there was no vaccine or specific treatment available for it.
Another official at the meeting disclosed that the patient’s condition had deteriorated significantly, resulting in multiple organs being affected.
“This person is actually a diplomat,” the official said.
The official further revealed that the patient had developed “multi-organ failure”, although the authorities did not disclose her nationality or provide further details about the organs affected.
The latest development follows the Federal Government’s confirmation on Tuesday that a woman who recently arrived in Nigeria had tested positive for Ebola virus disease in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
According to the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, the patient had travelled internationally from Uganda before receiving medical attention at a private hospital in Abuja for several days.
She was subsequently transferred to a designated isolation facility, where she is receiving medical care.
An aviation official, who spoke to Vanguard on the condition of anonymity because she was not authorised to speak publicly on the matter, disclosed that the patient arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on October 3 aboard Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET333.
Following confirmation of the infection, the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the NCDC and the FCT Health Services Secretariat commenced a coordinated response to prevent further transmission.
Health authorities have identified 44 close contacts, including healthcare workers, fellow patients, caregivers and individuals connected to the woman’s travel history.
The contacts are being monitored as part of efforts to identify possible secondary infections and contain the disease.
The Federal Government has also placed health institutions and port health surveillance units across the country on high alert.
Meanwhile, the Ugandan government has requested detailed travel and clinical records from Nigeria to establish the circumstances surrounding the infection and determine whether further contact-tracing measures are necessary.
The request followed reports that the infected woman had travelled through Uganda before arriving in Nigeria.
However, Uganda’s Ministry of Health said the woman’s transit through the country did not establish that she contracted the virus there.
In a statement titled “Reported Ebola Case in Nigeria: Ministry Calls for Calm and Vigilance,” the Director-General of Health Services at Uganda’s Ministry of Health, Professor Charles Olaro, said preliminary information indicated that the woman had travelled to the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo for business before transiting through Uganda in early October.
According to the statement, she reportedly showed no symptoms while in Uganda but developed symptoms after arriving in Nigeria.
“The location of exposure remains under investigation,” the statement said.
The Ugandan government also stated that Nigeria had yet to provide detailed information about the woman’s travel itinerary and clinical history.
“The government of Nigeria is yet to provide detailed information on the woman’s travel itinerary and clinical history to guide further investigations and any necessary contact tracing,” the statement added.
Uganda further clarified that it had no confirmed active Ebola cases as of the date of the statement.
The country was declared Ebola-free by the World Health Organisation in August after an outbreak that recorded 20 cases, according to the information provided by Ugandan authorities.
The Ugandan Ministry of Health said it was awaiting further information from Nigeria while strengthening screening and other public health measures at points of entry in collaboration with relevant agencies.
In response to concerns about the circumstances surrounding the infection, Pate said Nigeria was collaborating with Uganda to contain the risk and prevent the disease from spreading within the country.
The minister spoke with journalists after a meeting at the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila.
Asked about reports that Uganda had denied having an active Ebola case despite the infection reported in Nigeria, Pate said both countries were working together.
“All I can tell you is that we are collaborating with our sister African nation of Uganda. What is important is that we have found this one case. We are doing contact tracing, and we are putting containment measures to ensure that it doesn’t go into our population,” the minister said.
The Federal Government’s response has also attracted the attention of the National Assembly, with the Senate and the House of Representatives urging the government to release funds urgently to relevant agencies to strengthen efforts to contain the disease.
The Senate also called for mandatory screening of passengers at international airports and other entry points as part of measures to reduce the risk of further transmission.
The Bundibugyo strain belongs to the Ebola virus group and was first identified during an outbreak in Uganda in 2007. Ebola virus disease can cause severe illness and may result in death, particularly in cases involving serious complications.
The virus spreads through direct contact with the blood and other bodily fluids of an infected person who is showing symptoms, as well as through contaminated materials.
Symptoms may include fever, severe weakness, headache, muscle pain and sore throat. Some patients may subsequently experience vomiting, diarrhoea and other serious complications.
The incubation period generally ranges from two to 21 days. Infected individuals typically become capable of transmitting the virus after symptoms develop.
Nigeria previously recorded an Ebola outbreak in 2014 after an infected traveller arrived in Lagos from Liberia. The outbreak was however contained.
