By Ghazali Ibrahim
The Director-General of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), Dr Jean Kaseya, says the source of Nigeria’s Ebola case has not been established, despite the patient’s recent travel through Uganda.
Kaseya disclosed this on Thursday during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, noting that investigations were ongoing to determine where the Nigerian patient contracted the virus.
“What we know is that the lady came from Uganda, but what we don’t know is whether it is a transmission from Uganda, Kampala, or a transmission that came from another place,” he said.
He added that Uganda had declared the end of its Ebola outbreak, stressing that further findings would guide discussions with Ugandan authorities.
Kaseya said Africa CDC was working with health authorities in Nigeria, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to trace the source of the infection and prevent the investigation from triggering diplomatic tensions between the countries.
According to him, the patient was born in Nigeria, lives in Abuja and arrived in the Federal Capital Territory with her husband on October 3 after spending time in Uganda.
However, Uganda’s Ministry of Health had earlier clarified that the patient travelled to eastern DRC for business before passing through Uganda, emphasising that transit through the country did not establish that she contracted the virus there.
The ongoing investigation is expected to determine the likely source of infection and clarify the circumstances surrounding the case.
