THE Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has reportedly confirmed that the condition of the woman who tested positive for Ebola virus in Abuja has deteriorated into multiple organ failure.
The centre also said that the Ebola virus detected in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) is the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus.
The NCDC’s Director of Health Laboratory Services, Olajumoke Babatunde, reportedly made the disclosure during an emergency incident management meeting in Abuja on Wednesday.
“We did three levels of tests, but all were molecular. The strain was Bundibugyo,” she said.
The development comes a day after the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Ali Pate, announced Nigeria’s first confirmed Ebola case.
Pate said the patient was in isolation and receiving medical care, while authorities intensified efforts to contain the disease.
The ICIR reported that the patient is a woman who had travelled to Nigeria from Uganda and was admitted to a private hospital in the FCT, where she received treatment for several days before laboratory tests confirmed the infection.
However, Uganda’s Ministry of Health clarified that the patient is Nigerian and that her travel through Uganda did not establish that she contracted the virus there.
It noted that the woman had travelled to the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) for business before transiting through Uganda in early October.
The Ugandan government said the woman reportedly showed no symptoms while in the country but developed symptoms after arriving in Nigeria.
The country also said Nigeria had yet to provide detailed information about the woman’s travel itinerary and clinical history, which it said would help guide further investigations and any necessary contact tracing.
It stressed that Uganda had no confirmed active Ebola cases as of the time of its statement.
The ICIR reports that the NCDC in its latest statement also disclosed during the meeting that the patient is a diplomat.
The centre explained that Nigerian health authorities were working to establish the source of the infection, determine the patient’s movements and identify people who might have been exposed to her.
According to the NCDC, the Bundibugyo virus is a rare Ebola virus species first identified during an outbreak in Uganda in 2007. It belongs to the genus Orthoebolavirus and causes Bundibugyo virus disease, a severe illness that can lead to viral haemorrhagic fever in humans.
Ebola outbreaks can involve different virus species, and the effectiveness of available vaccines and treatments varies by species.
However, the Nigerian health authorities have appealed to Nigerians to maintain a high level of suspicion for possible cases, follow infection prevention and control protocols, and report suspected infections promptly.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.