Nigeria confirmed its first case of Ebola virus disease in the current regional outbreak on Tuesday, October 20. Coordinating Minister of Health Muhammad Ali Pate said laboratory tests verified Bundibugyo ebolavirus in a woman who had arrived from Uganda. She is isolated in a private Abuja hospital after several days of treatment; 44 close contacts are under monitoring. ALSO READ: Kenya confirms eighth Ebola case The confirmation comes amid a major outbreak in DR Congo, which has recorded more than 9,500 confirmed cases and over 4,600 deaths since May, with a case fatality rate near 48 percent. Kenya has confirmed 9 cases linked to a single cluster, including one death. Uganda reported 20 cases and two deaths but was declared Ebola-free in August after its last patient was discharged in mid-July. Nigerian authorities have intensified surveillance and are working Africa CDC and partners to contain the case. Nigeria last recorded Ebola cases in 2014, when an outbreak affected West Africa.
