Nigeria has recorded two suspected Ebola cases in its northeast, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement posted on X on Saturday. The announcement follows the country’s declaration of its first case in more than ten years on October 20.
Both individuals are being kept in isolation while officials trace their contacts and carry out laboratory tests. The agency stressed that a suspected classification does not confirm infection, and that laboratory results will decide the final status.
Imported case and Swiss couple evacuated
Last week, Nigeria became the fifth country affected by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, after an imported case was reported. A Swiss woman who had travelled to Nigeria from Uganda tested positive for the virus.
She and her husband, a Swiss diplomat, were moved to Switzerland on Monday.
Outbreak spreads through the Democratic Republic of the Congo
The current outbreak began in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in May and is the largest in that country’s history. The Bundibugyo strain has killed more than 5,000 people there since then, affecting eight of the country’s 26 provinces, with over 10,300 confirmed cases reported.
No approved treatment or vaccine exists for this strain, although vaccine trials are under way. On Friday, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged stronger protections for front-line workers after two young Congolese doctors died from Ebola earlier this week in North Kivu and Ituri provinces.
Health authorities say persistent weaknesses in early detection and contact tracing are among the main obstacles to stopping transmission. Only about 12 percent of confirmed cases in the country were among previously known contacts, and many deaths have occurred in communities, authorities said. Since May, Bundibugyo cases have also been reported in Uganda, France, Kenya and, most recently, Nigeria.
