The risk of continental spread of Ebola looms as Nigeria becomes the fourth African country to report a confirmed case of the deadly virus since the outbreak was declared in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in mid-May.

Caused by the rare Bundibugyo strain of the virus, it has since become the world’s second-deadliest Ebola outbreak ever and the fastest-growing on record. It has killed 4,803 patients, nearly half of all the 9,876 confirmed cases in the eight provinces of DRC’s eastern region as of October 23​

The real scale of deaths is likely much higher, since community transmission of the virus had already begun in DRC’s Ituri province by mid-February, three months before it was detected and officially declared an outbreak on May 15.​

Neighboring Uganda, which is backing armed groups in Ituri, undermining the already delayed and severely underfunded health response, also reported its first case on May 15. However, after two deaths and 20 confirmed infections, the health ministry declared Uganda Ebola-free in late July. The WHO also certified this in late August, after no new cases were confirmed for 42 days.​

However, its Ebola-free status has now come under question with the first case in Nigeria. The 42-year-old patient is a Ugandan national and Swiss citizen. She is the wife of a Swiss diplomat at its embassy in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, where she resides.​

After a two-and-a-half-week-long vacation in Uganda, she and her husband returned to Abuja on October 3. Four days later, she fell ill. Initially suspected of Malaria, she was treated at two private hospitals before being tested positive for Ebola and isolated on October 20.​

Uganda makes a false claim

Soon after she was tested positive in Nigeria, the Ugandan health ministry claimed that the patient had traveled to the DRC.

However, the “information supplied to WHO did not include [her] travel” to any country other than Uganda, WHO representative in Nigeria Pavel Ursu said on October 22.

“So far, there ​is no validated information that this case traveled to DRC,” added Wessam Mankoula, the Head of Health Emergencies of the continent’s highest health authority, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).​

Then on October 23, the Swiss foreign ministry said explicitly that the patient had not traveled to the DRC, directly contradicting Uganda’s claim, indicating that she was infected in Uganda.

Uganda, meanwhile, still maintains that it has no confirmed Ebola cases. The WHO and Africa CDC are now examining a hypothesis that she may have contracted the virus at the airport in Uganda’s capital, Kampala, where a Kenyan businessman, infected during his travels in the DRC, was also present while she was boarding her flight to Abuja.

The Kenyan businessman had spent seven years in the DRC. While traveling on business, he had already fallen ill in September and was treated in multiple hospitals, but was not diagnosed with Ebola. Early symptoms of Ebola are often similar to other diseases in the region, including Malaria. He was reportedly provided antibiotics and sent home at one of the hospitals.​

An illegal border crossing

The man in question traveled by road to Uganda from the conflict-ridden, mineral-rich, Ebola-affected province of North Kivu, parts of which are occupied by the Rwandan army and its proxy, the M23, which Uganda also supports, according to the UN.​

It is unclear how the Kenyan businessman reached Kampala from North Kivu. Soon after the outbreak was declared, Uganda had closed the border with DRC, except for humanitarian trucks. Mankoula said he had crossed the border illegally.

In Kampala, he boarded a flight to Nairobi on October 3 from Entebbe Airport, through which the Uganda-born Swiss citizen who later tested positive in Nigeria was also passing that day to catch her flight to Abuja.

“Has there been any touch or contact between two cases [him and the case in Nigeria] at the airport at the same time?” This is one of the theories that is currently under investigation,” said Mankoula of the Africa CDC.  

When the Kenyan businessman landed in Nairobi, he was already ill. The family member who picked him up from the airport drove him straight to the Nairobi Hospital, where he died two days later. Eight others who came into contact were also infected and isolated. They include four health workers and four family members, one of whom died later on October 23.

Even as health authorities examine whether he was also the source from whom the Nigerian case contracted the virus,  virologist Marion Koopmans, who is also a member of the WHO’s Ebola emergency committee, has cast doubt on this theory.

“I think that is very speculative unless there is evidence of sharing the same ​space in a manner that could explain that. Random presence at the same location, a large airport, is not a supported epidemiological link by any standard of what we currently know,” she said.

If he was not the source, that could mean Ugandan authorities are either not revealing or are unaware of potential cases in the country. Even if he was the source, questions remain about Uganda’s Ebola-free status, as others he may have come into contact with – either in the airport or on his way to it in Kampala –  could also have contracted the virus.

Nigeria at risk of community transmission

Either way, Nigeria is now at risk of community transmission. The Nigerian case landed on October 3 in Abuja, at one of the busiest airports in West Africa. Only on October 20, 13 days after developing symptoms, was she tested positive for Ebola and isolated.​

Amid fears that the virus may have infected others who may have come into contact with her during this period, especially health workers, Nigerian Health Minister Muhammad Ali Pate said that authorities were tracing all 44 contacts. “We are trying to contain it so it doesn’t go out to the communities. Hopefully, it won’t get to that,” he added.​

“When we identified at-risk countries, Nigeria was not part of this list. It is now. That list would have to be redrawn, and North and Southern Africa could also be at ​risk,” said Jean Kaseya, director-general of the Africa CDC, adding, “We need to consider that no one is safe today.”

El brote de ébola, causado por la cepa Bundibugyo, se extiende por ocho provincias mientras la OMS ensaya dos vacunas experimentales.

O número de casos confirmados de Ebola na República Democrática do Congo ultrapassou 10 mil, segundo dados do governo divulgados nesta terça-feira (27), um marco que coincide com o crescente temor de que a epidemia possa se espalhar para mais países africanos.

O último relatório do Instituto de Saúde Pública do Congo indica que o número de casos chegou a 10.060, com 4.887 mortes causadas pelo vírus.

O surto, provocado pela rara espécie Bundibugyo do vírus Ebola, foi anunciado em meados de maio e, desde então, se tornou o maior e mais mortal da história da RD Congo, superando a epidemia de 2018-2020.

Atualmente, é a segunda maior e a segunda mais mortal já registrada, atrás apenas do surto de Ebola na África Ocidental de 2014-2016, que infectou mais de 28.600 pessoas e matou mais de 11 mil, principalmente na Guiné, Libéria e Serra Leoa.

No início deste mês, o Quênia relatou seu primeiro caso e, posteriormente, anunciou um total de nove casos , após a morte de um homem que havia viajado do Congo via Uganda em Nairóbi.

Na semana passada, a Nigéria tornou-se o quarto país africano a registrar um caso de Ebola.

As autoridades de saúde têm procurado descobrir como e onde a paciente — esposa de um diplomata suíço, que não havia viajado para o Congo — contraiu a doença. O governo suíço afirmou acreditar que ela a contraiu em Uganda.

A mulher e o marido foram levados de avião para hospitais na Suíça na segunda-feira.

Uganda registrou 20 casos em maio e junho, a maioria importada do Congo, mas a OMS (Organização Mundial da Saúde) declarou o país livre do Ebola em agosto.

Autoridades ugandesas afirmam que o país não possui nenhum caso de Ebola.

O ministro da Saúde de Uganda afirmou no domingo que os cidadãos ugandeses que retornarem ao país com histórico de viagem ao Congo serão colocados em quarentena por 21 dias.

Ebola na República Democrática do Congo é o mais mortal da história

 

Foram registados 10.060 casos confirmados, com uma taxa de letalidade de 48,6%, equivalente a 4.887 mortes, até 25 de outubro, tendo 2.684 doentes recuperado da doença até à data.

© STRINGER/EPA

All Ugandan citizens returning to their country with a history of travel to the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will have to undergo 21 days of quarantine, the Ugandan government announced this Sunday, after the detection of cases in several countries linked to the Ebola epidemic in the DRC.

Kenya Reports Its Second Ebola Dead in the Country: Ugandans Who Travel DRC Will Spent 21 Quarantine Days at Come Back Due Ebola

“If you are a Ugandan citizen returning to Uganda and have a history of having been in the DRC, we will subject you to a 21-day quarantine (the incubation period of the Ebola virus), at your expense,” said Ugandan Health Minister Chris Baryomunsi at a press conference.

Likewise, he noted, “movement across the Uganda-DRC border is restricted to essential travelers, including humanitarian workers and commercial truck drivers.”

The minister disclosed this decision after his ministry announced on Friday that the country will not allow people who have traveled to the DRC to transit through its territory, warning that “relevant provisions of the Public Health Act will be invoked in case of non-compliance” and that “people who enter the country through unauthorized routes will be referred to the competent authorities.”

🎙️#UNDERWAY

BRIEFING BY THE HON. MINISTER OF HEALTH @CHRISBARYOMUNS1 ON THE  PROGRESS IN NATIONAL EBOLA PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE EFFORTS. #MOHatWork https://t.co/1fBKmdZKQb

— Ministry of Health- Uganda (@MinofHealthUG) October 25, 2026

Uganda has announced these measures after Nigeria confirmed last Tuesday an imported case of the disease corresponding to a Swiss citizen of Ugandan origin who returned to Nigeria after a vacation in Uganda.

Kenya, for its part, has detected nine Ebola infections so far, after confirming its first imported case on October 5, that of a Kenyan man who returned to his country via Uganda, after having lived the last seven years in the DRC.

That man and another patient have died so far, while the other seven patients are still receiving medical attention.

The DRC declared its seventeenth Ebola outbreak on May 15 – the second deadliest in history globally – affecting eight Congolese provinces and, according to the latest official balance, with data collected until October 23, has caused 9,876 confirmed cases and 4,803 deaths so far.

It also spread to Uganda, where the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the end of the outbreak on August 26, after counting 20 confirmed cases, including 15 imported from the DRC, among which there were two deaths.

Along with Uganda, Kenya, and Nigeria, cases linked to this epidemic have been detected in the Netherlands (one) and France (one).

The Government of Kenya announced a second Ebola death, after the detection of at least nine infections in the country so far, including the index case, a Kenyan citizen who also died and who had traveled from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a country that declared an outbreak last May.

Africa CDC Urges Global Help as Ebola Spreads: Kenya Reports Its Second Ebola Dead in the Country

As detailed in a statement late Friday by the Kenyan Ministry of Health, the deceased patient was a 65-year-old woman who was the third confirmed case in Kenyan territory.

“She was a direct contact and close family member of the first (deceased) case and was in quarantine when she developed symptoms on October 13, 2026,” the Ministry explained.

After being admitted to a hospital infectious disease unit and receiving care from specialized medical teams, the woman succumbed to the disease on Friday afternoon.

The Ministry of Health mourns the death of a 65-year-old woman who was receiving care for Bundibugyo Ebola and extends heartfelt condolences to her family, friends and community. Seven patients continue to receive care. All nine cases remain within one cluster, with no evidence… pic.twitter.com/HSWQcC0mck

— Ministry of Health (@MOH_Kenya) October 23, 2026

The Ministry assured that it would facilitate a “safe and dignified burial” for the patient, in accordance with public health protocols.

“This loss raises the number of deaths to two among the nine confirmed cases. The seven remaining patients continue to receive care in the two isolation facilities,” the Executive specified, reiterating that “all cases are part of the same group of known contacts and there is no evidence of community transmission.”

“Her death is a painful reminder that Ebola is a serious disease that can be fatal and that the condition of patients can change suddenly,” the Ministry concluded.

Kenya confirmed its first imported Ebola case on October 5, corresponding to a forty-year-old man who had lived the last seven years in the DRC.

Patient zero received treatment in several Congolese hospitals before traveling by road to Kampala (Uganda’s capital) and, subsequently, flying to Nairobi, where he landed on October 3 and died two days later.

Começou um ensaio em grande escala em seres humanos com a Ervebo, uma vacina já aprovada para uso contra a estirpe Zaire do vírus Ébola, que é a mais comum.

© STRINGER/EPA

Switzerland says patient is wife of Swiss diplomat and believed to have contracted virus while travelling in Uganda

Health officials across Africa are racing to determine how Nigeria’s first Ebola patient ⁠in more than a decade ⁠became infected, amid fears ​the outbreak could spread further after reaching a fourth African country.

The Swiss foreign ministry said on Friday the patient in Nigeria, the Ugandan-born wife of a Swiss diplomat based in Abuja, had not travelled to the Democratic Republic of ⁠Congo, where the outbreak was first detected in mid-May before spreading to Uganda, Kenya and now Nigeria. The woman was believed to have contracted Ebola while travelling with her husband in Uganda, the ministry added.

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© Photograph: Sodiq Adelakun/Reuters

© Photograph: Sodiq Adelakun/Reuters

© Photograph: Sodiq Adelakun/Reuters

Nigeria is the latest country to report an Ebola case as the latest outbreak spreads across the region. Kenya confirmed its first case earlier this month and has since recorded nine infections.

Oxford e Moderna já têm vacinas em fase avançada. SAGE alerta para urgência de aprovação regulatória enquanto letalidade no Congo chega aos 48,3%.

© WHO HANDOUT/EPA

In less than five months, the fastest-spreading Ebola outbreak in world history has killed at least 4,205 people in the conflict-ridden eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as of October 7.

It is the deadliest outbreak in the DRC since the disease was first discovered in the country in 1976, killing nearly one in two of the 8,728 people confirmed to be infected.

With treatment still in experimental stages, there is no specifically approved treatment for the particular Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus that caused this outbreak, declared on May 15. 

However, the virus had been circulating in communities in Ituri province since mid-February, three months before the outbreak was identified and officially declared.​

Aid cuts: unpaid frontline workers

When the health response started, already late, it was severely underfunded, as the UK, France and Germany have also followed in the footsteps of the US to slash humanitarian aid and increase military spending.​

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in late September that the Humanitarian Response Plan had only half the funding needed to counter the outbreak.​

Contact tracing is well below the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the WHO-recommended 95% to effectively break transmission. Only now in October, it has been built up to 80.4%, which still means that almost 20% of the people at risk of exposure to the virus due to contact with confirmed cases are off the radar of the health authorities, and could potentially be transmitting the disease further.

Lack of funds has meant that the understaffed and overworked frontline health workers – scores of whom have died in the line of duty – have been repeatedly forced to go on strike to protest unpaid wages. Their efforts are further impeded by the poor transport infrastructure and lack of healthcare facilities in the remote eastern region where the disease is spreading.​

Armed conflict complicating health response 

Armed conflict displacing millions on this mineral-rich land is another major hurdle in the way of effective health response. In Ituri, the epicenter of the outbreak, a key Ebola transit center in the fighting-affected Kigonze camp burnt down on September 29.​

The camp, which had housed 19,000 Internally Displaced People (IDPs) fleeing violence, was reportedly infiltrated by the Convention for the Popular Revolution (CRP).

Uganda​

This coalition of armed militias, formed in March 2025 at a hotel in Uganda’s capital, Kampala, is led by Thomas Lubanga, a former warlord, convicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) of war crimes, released from prison in 2020 after serving 14 years. He resides in Uganda, where he is also known to have recruited fighters along ethnic lines.​

In a 2022 judgment, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Uganda to pay DRC USD 325 million in reparations. This included USD 225 million for killings, rapes, child soldier recruitment, and displacement, USD 40 million for damage to property, and USD 60 million for plundering its gold, diamonds, and timber as an “occupying power” in Ituri from 1998 to 2003.​

The nature of the occupation has since evolved. Under a bilateral agreement with the DRC, Uganda had deployed 2,000 troops to the country to jointly fight an Islamic State-affiliated group. However, Uganda deployed an additional 4,000 troops without the DRC’s consent in early 2025, around the time as the CRP’s formation in Kampala.  ​

Searching for CRP militants and weapons, soldiers and police entered the camp on September 20. When they came under fire, clashes erupted between the security forces and the militants. Thousands of IDPs fled again as gunfire continued rattling around the camp for days. Deaths, injuries, and arrests were reported.​

Ebola transit center burns down

Amid this violence, on September 29, fire engulfed the camp’s Ebola transit center. It is a facility for the isolation and care of suspected cases, until the results of the lab tests on their blood samples. If confirmed as positive, they are then transported to an Ebola treatment center.​

“It’s been a huge struggle to create Ebola transit centers [and] Ebola treatment centers; it’s required money, bringing in staff and it’s been a struggle all across the east. So, when we lose a center, that means we lose capacity, we lose investment and we have to start again,” said Julien Harneis, UN’s senior Ebola response official in the DRC.​

“Eastern DRC now faces a catastrophic collision of disease and conflict, with the Ebola outbreak in Ituri province outpacing the response,” the WHO’s director general, Tedros Ghebreyesus, had warned in May.​

The outbreak has since reached seven of DRC’s 26 provinces, predominantly in the east. About three-quarters of the confirmed cases remain concentrated in Ituri. However, its neighboring province, North Kivu, which has another 20% of confirmed cases, is emerging as the new hotspot.​

Rwanda

Large areas of this province are occupied by Rwandan troops and its proxy militias, the M23, which captured its capital, Goma, in January 2025, and went on to expand territorial control into South Kivu province.

​Without humanitarian access to these occupied areas, the government cannot mount a health response, Communications Minister Patrick Katembwe said in late May, second week after the outbreak was declared. He called for the “withdrawal of foreign forces and the removal of their auxiliaries.”

Instead, the M23’s parallel administration launched a separate health response in the areas under its control, independently of the DRC government, with which cooperation was limited to data sharing and lab testing. This severely hampered contact tracing, especially because people regularly travel between the M23-held areas and government-controlled territory.

“Multiple outbreaks are developing at the same time”

​The parallel M23 administration has also meant additional delays in diagnosis. With bed capacity in Ebola treatment centers stretched taut in North Kivu, medics in this province are forced to refer infected patients to general health facilities, where a third of all confirmed cases are being treated, posing further risk of transmission into the wider community.

​The spread has rapidly increased since September in this province, which now accounts for nearly 40% of all new confirmed cases, up from 24% in August-end, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said on October 5.

​“It is like fighting a megafire,” said Stéphanie Hoffmann, MSF coordinator of the treatment center in Butembo, a major commercial city in the province. “Multiple outbreaks are developing at the same time, with varying intensity and in different locations. As long as new hotspots continue to emerge while the virus spreads across northern North Kivu, containing the epidemic will remain extremely difficult.”

Com taxa de letalidade de 48,3%, esta é já a segunda epidemia de ébola mais mortífera da história. A estirpe de Bundibugyo não tem tratamento, mas há duas vacinas em ensaios.

© STRINGER/EPA

Canadian citizens or permanent residents who have been in one of the affected countries need to quarantine for 21 days upon their return to Canada.

Canadian citizens or permanent residents who have been in one of the affected countries need to quarantine for 21 days upon their return to Canada.

The Ebola outbreak has spread to seven provinces, with 7,773 confirmed cases and 3,759 deaths, according to the latest government figures.

The Ebola outbreak has spread to seven provinces, with 7,773 confirmed cases and 3,759 deaths, according to the latest government figures.

The extension means decisions on immigration and visa applications from residents of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and South Sudan will remain on hold until Sept. 28.