Ebola has now reached Nigeria. The outbreak began in eastern Congo in May and has since spread to four other countries: Kenya and Nigeria, which have recent cases, and Uganda and France, which reported earlier ones. The World Health Organization calls it the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak ever recorded.
It is caused by the Bundibugyo strain, a rare form of the virus. There is no licensed vaccine or approved treatment for it.
Congo
Congo has passed 10,000 confirmed cases. As of 25 October, its national public health institute reported 10,060 confirmed cases and 4,887 deaths across 66 health zones in eight provinces.
Kenya
Kenya confirmed its first case on 6 October, a man who had travelled from Congo through Uganda to Nairobi. By 19 October the count was nine, including a hospital attendant who had cared for the first patient.
The Ministry of Health says all nine cases belong to one cluster and that there is no evidence of transmission outside it. At least one of the patients has died. As of 20 October, authorities had traced and quarantined 134 of 135 identified contacts.
Nigeria
Nigeria confirmed its first imported case on 20 October. The patient is a woman in Abuja who had recently returned from Uganda.
According to the WHO, her symptoms began on 7 October, four days after she arrived in Nigeria. She was admitted to a private facility on 11 October and confirmed by laboratory testing. Authorities first identified 44 contacts to monitor, and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention listed 53 by 24 October. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has approved a ₦100,000 weekly allowance for people under quarantine.
Uganda and France
Uganda recorded 20 confirmed cases, 15 of them patients from Congo, before the WHO declared its outbreak over on 27 August. Eighteen people recovered and two died.
France confirmed a case in June, in a doctor who had returned from a humanitarian mission in Congo. The patient recovered and was discharged on 4 July. France is the only country outside Africa to have reported a confirmed case.
