Nigerian health authorities have identified a genetic connection between the country’s first confirmed Ebola infection in more than a decade and the virus detected in Kenya’s initial patient, providing new evidence of a possible link between the outbreaks.
Health Minister Muhammad Ali Pate said on Friday that genomic sequencing showed the virus isolated from Nigeria’s only confirmed patient was closely related to the strain identified in Kenya’s first Ebola case.
The findings represent the first confirmed genetic connection between the infections, although authorities stressed that the results do not establish how the virus spread between the countries.
Nigerian officials said there was no evidence that Kenya’s first patient had travelled to Nigeria or had direct contact with the infected woman in Abuja.
The Nigerian patient, a Ugandan-born woman who recently visited Uganda, remains the country’s only confirmed Ebola case.
Health authorities are tracing and quarantining people who may have come into contact with her as investigations continue into the source of the infection.
Pate said several suspected contacts had tested negative, while results for others were still pending.
Uganda tightens border precautions
The genomic findings have renewed scrutiny of Uganda’s possible role in the regional spread of the virus.
Ugandan authorities maintained on Friday that the country remained free of Ebola, despite the Nigerian patient’s recent travel history.
The Health Ministry announced additional precautions, including the reinstatement of traveller locator forms for everyone entering Uganda, regardless of their country of origin.
Authorities also said travellers with a history of visiting the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where the current outbreak originated, would not be permitted to transit through Uganda.
Uganda, which borders the DRC, has previously experienced Ebola outbreaks and remains a critical transit route for travellers moving between Central and East Africa.
Investigators examine regional transmission
The latest findings follow earlier reports that the Nigerian woman and Kenya’s first confirmed Ebola patient departed Uganda’s Entebbe International Airport on October 3.
The Kenyan patient subsequently died at a Nairobi hospital on October 5.
However, health specialists have cautioned that travelling through the same airport does not establish direct transmission, which typically requires contact with infected bodily fluids or contaminated materials.
The genomic evidence strengthens the case for a connection between the infections but does not determine whether transmission occurred in Uganda or elsewhere.
The outbreak, which began in the DRC in May, has spread to multiple African countries, prompting heightened surveillance and contact tracing.
Investigations are continuing as regional health authorities seek to identify possible undetected transmission chains and prevent further infections.
