44 isolated in Abuja as officials trace airport link to first Nigerian Ebola case

Nigerian health authorities have placed 44 individuals in quarantine after confirming the country's first Ebola case in over a decade. The patient is a Ugandan-born diplomat's wife residing in Abuja. She returned to Nigeria earlier this month after spending September in Uganda.

The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced the inquiry into the case on Thursday. Dr. Wessam Mankoula, the agency's emergency preparedness and response lead, stated that the woman is currently receiving treatment. Investigators are working to determine the exact source of her exposure.

The investigation centers on Entebbe International Airport in Uganda. Both the Nigerian patient and the first confirmed Kenyan Ebola case were present at the airport on the same day. Mankoula said the agency is examining whether there was any interaction between the two individuals that could have facilitated transmission.

Nigeria is the fourth country in Africa to report a case in the current outbreak. It is the first in West Africa and is located farthest from the epicenter in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The patient's geographic location makes the case a key data point for regional tracking.

The broader outbreak began in eastern Congo in May and has become the fastest spreading on record. At least 4,600 people have died in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and roughly 9,700 have been infected. Uganda initially reported about 20 cases but was declared free of the virus in August.

Kenya recorded its first case in early October. That patient, who has since died, traveled from Congo to Kenya via Uganda. Eight additional cases have been confirmed in Kenya since the first death. Ebola spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids or contaminated items, and individuals are generally not infectious until symptoms appear.