Ebola cases in Kenya and Nigeria renew doubts over Uganda outbreak
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on The Independent
The origin of Bundibugyo virus disease cases diagnosed in Nigeria and Kenya is being investigated, as both patients are thought to have travelled through Uganda. Ugandan authorities maintain their outbreak is under control, while epidemiologists in Bunia, Kampala, Abuja and Nairobi examine a possible link, The Independent reports.
Cases of Bundibugyo virus disease diagnosed in Nigeria and Kenya are casting doubt on Uganda’s assurances that its outbreak is under control, The Independent reports. Both patients are thought to have travelled through Uganda, but investigations have not established where the woman diagnosed in Nigeria was infected or whether the two cases are linked.
The woman who fell ill in Nigeria is thought to have travelled from Uganda. A man who died in Kenya also reportedly crossed the country on his way to his home country. Epidemiologists in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Nigeria and Kenya are examining possible links between the cases.
Kampala says local transmission has been contained and that Uganda has recorded no new confirmed cases since 28 July, when the government declared the outbreak over. The announcement came about 12 days before the end of the World Health Organization’s official countdown. In May, Uganda’s Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Health, Diana Atwine, said the country had never exported an Ebola case.
The regional investigation is examining the origin of the infections and the patients’ movements. Uganda also confirmed there were no active cases after the Nigerian case was detected, in a report published on 21 October. Africa CDC had said that the first patient diagnosed in Nigeria was Ugandan.
