Nigeria and Kenya Ebola patients may have crossed paths at Uganda airport, officials say

ByMakuochi Okafor, BBC Africa, Simi Jolaoso, Africa correspondent, Reporting fromLagos and Wycliffe Muia.

Key points

• The Kenyan man had travelled from the Democratic Republic of Congo through Uganda before arriving in Nairobi on 3 October.
• She developed symptoms four days after arriving in Abuja and sought treatment at two private health facilities before testing positive for Ebola on 20 October.
• Health authorities are investigating whether Ebola patients in Nigeria and Kenya may have crossed paths at Uganda's main airport earlier this month.
• She is married to a Swiss diplomat based in Nigeria, Switzerland's foreign ministry confirmed to Reuters news agency.
• Nigeria's Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) remarked it was carrying out genomic sequencing.

Both travelled through Entebbe airport on 3 October, and investigators are examining whether they could have been exposed through shared equipment or other contact, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) remarked on Thursday.

Dr Wessam Mankoula, the agency's head of emergency preparedness and response, remarked this was "one of the possible scenarios", but stressed that no link had been established.

While Kenya has confirmed nine infections, including one death, nigeria is battling its first Ebola case in more than a decade.

In practice, the Nigerian patient, a 42-year-old Ugandan-born woman who lives in Abuja, is receiving treatment in isolation and is showing signs of improvement, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

She is married to a Swiss diplomat based in Nigeria, Switzerland's foreign ministry confirmed to Reuters news agency. Her husband, who accompanied her on a trip to Uganda, is additionally in isolation but has not developed symptoms.

For context, the woman returned to Nigeria on 3 October after spending regarding two and a half weeks in Uganda, travelling through Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, where she had a two-hour stopover.

Health authorities are now trying to establish where she contracted the virus and whether her movements overlapped with those of the Kenyan patient. Is Ebola under control in Kenya after nine cases confirmed?

What is Ebola and why is stopping the latest outbreak so tough?

For context, the Kenyan man had travelled from the Democratic Republic of Congo through Uganda before arriving in Nairobi on 3 October. He afterwards died, becoming Kenya's first recorded Ebola death in the current outbreak.

Although both patients passed through Entebbe airport on the same day, health authorities have not established whether they met, employed the same facilities or had any other contact.

"One of the issues we are currently investigating has been some sort of interaction between the two cases at the airport, " Mankoula informed journalists on Thursday.

Investigators are additionally examining whether the two infections could have a common source.

Notably, the WHO remarked it was too early to determine where the Nigerian woman became infected.

"The source of exposure is still not known. The travel history of the patient is still being pieced together, " remarked Dr Patrick Otim, a WHO emergency response official.

He remarked investigators had struggled to obtain a complete account of her movements as opportunities to interview her were limited while she remained in hospital.

Nigeria's Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) remarked it was carrying out genomic sequencing. It could assist investigators understand whether the infection is related to other cases.

"The investigation is reconstructing the full travel and exposure history. Genomic sequencing is given a high priority, " remarked Dr Pavel Ursu, the WHO's representative in Nigeria.

Ugandan health authorities previously stated the woman had travelled to eastern DR Congo for business, where the current Ebola outbreak began.

Nevertheless, the WHO, Africa CDC and Nigeria's health ministry stated they had not received verified information confirming that she had visited the country.

Uganda has maintained that it has no confirmed active Ebola cases and notes the woman's travel through the country does not necessarily mean she contracted the virus there.

Meanwhile, Africa CDC remarked Nigeria had identified further individuals who may have been exposed to the woman, beyond the 44 contacts initially noted.

"Most of those contacts, they are from the healthcare workers in different facilities where this case has been receiving treatment. We have additionally some few family members, " Mankoula informed journalists on Thursday.

He remarked Nigerian authorities were working to identify and quarantine those considered at high risk, but declined to provide an updated figure before the administration issued its findings.

"The position of the country to bring those high-risk contact and put them on quarantine, " he continued.

Dr Ursu remarked the woman was receiving a high standard of clinical care and that her condition was stable.

In Kenya, the first group of individuals quarantined after feasible exposure to Ebola will commence returning home on Sunday after completing 21 days of monitoring without developing symptoms.

Health Director-General Dr Patrick Amoth remarked all nine confirmed infections were linked to the first patient, with no evidence of wider community transmission.

"We are not out of the woods, " he cautioned, urging the public to remain vigilant but not panic.

He remarked the remaining eight patients remained in isolation and were responding well to treatment.

In practice, the developments have renewed reservations concerning the movement of infected individuals throughout international borders, particularly between the DR Congo and neighbouring Uganda, where thousands of individuals cross daily for trade, work and family visits.

As numerous individuals employed unofficial crossing points, dr Otim cautioned that the long and porous border between the two countries produced it tough to screen everyone entering or leaving.

For context, the WHO's regional director for Africa, Dr Mohamed Janabi, pressed "regional vigilance" and called on countries to strengthen surveillance, investigate infections and protect frontline health workers.

Ebola is a serious viral disease that spreads through direct contact with the blood or other bodily fluids of an infected person, or with contaminated objects. It does not spread through the air like flu.

In practice, the virus can cause fever, severe weakness, vomiting and diarrhoea, and can be fatal. Individuals are not considered infectious before they develop symptoms.

Health authorities say tracing contacts rapidly, isolating suspected cases and providing early treatment are crucial to preventing further transmission. More from the BBC on the Ebola outbreak.

'I buried my parents one day after the other' – Ebola mourners learn how to grieve safely. Questions remain over Ebola patient who travelled throughout three nations undetected.

Why Uganda is winning the battle against Ebola as virus spreads in DR Congo.

In short, nigeria and Kenya Ebola patients may have crossed paths at Uganda airport, is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.