Uganda has requested Nigeria to provide detailed travel and clinical records of a woman confirmed to have the Ebola virus disease after travelling from Kampala to Abuja, capital of the West African state.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Charles Olaro, the Director General of Health Services, Uganda Ministry of Health, said the information was required to guide further investigations and determine whether additional contact tracing was necessary, even as he stressed that the woman’s transit through Uganda did not establish that she contracted the virus there.
The ministry of health said it was awaiting further information from the Nigerian government to help establish the circumstances surrounding the infection, stating that it would strengthen screening and other public health measures at points of entry in collaboration with relevant agencies.
Preliminary information cited by the Ugandan authorities revealed that the woman, who travelled to the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo for business, transited through Uganda in early October without showing symptoms, but reportedly developed symptoms after arriving in Nigeria, as the location where she contracted the virus remains under investigation.
The statement, titled “Reported Ebola Case in Nigeria: the ministry calls for calm and vigilance” reads in part: “The Ministry of Health has noted reports of a confirmed Ebola case in Nigeria involving a Nigerian woman who reportedly travelled to the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo for business.
The ministry said her transit through Uganda does not establish that she contracted the infection there. The location of exposure remains under investigation.
“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 woman developed symptoms on Wednesday 7 October, four days after arriving in the country, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared Ebola free in late August after 42 days the country’s last patient, an imported case, had been discharged from care on 16 July 2026.
MG/as/APA