Abuja — Leading Ebola scientists are set to travel to Nigeria to investigate how the country’s first reported Ebola patient in more than a decade contracted the Bundibugyo strain, as health authorities seek to establish whether the infection is linked to cases reported in Kenya and Uganda.

Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) Director-General Jean Kaseya said the investigation would be led by Congolese virologist Jean-Jacques Muyembe, a co-discoverer of the Ebola virus.

The patient, a Ugandan-born woman married to a Swiss diplomat based in Abuja, reportedly had not visited the outbreak epicentre in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to her travel documents cited by Kaseya in an interview with Reuters.

Scientists will investigate how she became infected to determine whether the virus is spreading undetected in locations beyond the known outbreak areas and to help authorities identify and monitor people who may have been exposed.

Possible Link Between Nigeria and Kenya Cases

One focus of the investigation is a potential connection between the Nigerian patient and a man in Kenya who contracted Ebola after travelling from the DRC. The Kenyan patient has since died.

Genomic sequencing conducted on Friday showed that the viruses detected in the two patients were closely related. Both individuals were reportedly travelling through Uganda’s Entebbe International Airport on October 3, with their flights arriving or departing approximately 40 minutes apart.

However, authorities have not established whether the two patients met or had direct contact. Kaseya said the Nigerian patient did not recall meeting the Kenyan man.

He cautioned that genetic similarities between the viruses did not establish that either patient directly infected the other. Investigators will also examine the possibility of indirect transmission through another person.

“We have so many unknowns,” Kaseya said, adding that the investigation would be guided by scientific evidence.

Regional Cooperation Intensifies

The investigation follows disagreements over where the Nigerian patient may have contracted the virus. Uganda had maintained that she had travelled to the DRC, while Nigerian authorities suggested she may have been infected in Uganda, which had been Ebola-free since August, according to the report.

Kaseya said the countries involved were now prepared to cooperate in establishing the infection's origin. Investigators will analyse additional genomic sequencing data, including evidence that could help determine where the Kenyan patient was infected.

The findings could help authorities reconstruct possible transmission routes and strengthen cross-border surveillance.

Outbreak Raises Public Health Concerns

The Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in the DRC has reportedly caused almost 10,000 cases and more than 4,600 deaths, with infections spreading to Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda.

Ebola can cause fever, vomiting and diarrhoea, and severe cases may involve internal and external bleeding. The Bundibugyo species currently has no approved vaccine or specific approved treatment, according to the report.

Source: Reuters

Reporting: Jennifer Rigby

Editing: Toby Chopra