Jean Kaseya, director-general of the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), says the female traveller diagnosed with Ebola virus in Nigeria was born in Uganda.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Morning Brief, Kesaya said
the woman had travelled to Uganda, where she spent a few days, before her
husband joined her.
He said the couple “came back” to Abuja on October 3.
The federal government confirmed Nigeria’s first case of
Ebola Bundibugyo virus disease on October 20, after laboratory tests detected
the virus in a woman who had recently arrived in the country.
Ali Pate, coordinating minister of health and social
welfare, said the patient had been admitted to a private hospital in the
Federal Capital Territory (FCT), where she received treatment before the
diagnosis was confirmed.
On October 21, Olajumoke Babatunde, Nigeria Centre for
Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) director of public health laboratory
service, disclosed that the patient was a diplomat whose condition had
deteriorated into multi-organ failure.
Kaseya said authorities needed to establish whether the
woman had also travelled to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) or had
contact with anyone from the country, or travelled outside Kampala, Uganda.
“I am talking to Ugandan, DRC and Nigerian authorities, that
the person we know today without any doubt, that this is a Ugandan-born person
who went to Uganda and she was there for some days and the husband flew to join
her in Uganda,” Kesaya said.
“What we want is collaboration from this lady. She has to
tell us, to disclose to the authorities; I need this information, Nigeria needs
this information because we need also to support Uganda.
“These are information we’re looking for that will help all
of us and will prevent crisis among African countries.
“What we know is that the lady came from Uganda, but what we
don’t know is whether it is a transmission from Uganda, Kampala, or a
transmission that came from another place. When we have answers to these
questions, I will go back to Uganda and DRC to discuss the issue.”
Uganda’s ministry of health had claimed the patient was
Nigerian and had travelled to eastern DRC for business before transiting
through Uganda in early October.
Charles Olaro, Uganda’s director-general of health services,
said the woman did not develop symptoms while in Uganda but became ill after
arriving in Nigeria.
Uganda also maintained that it had no confirmed active Ebola
cases at the time of its statement, adding that the patient’s passage through
the country did not establish that she contracted the virus there.
“Travel through Uganda does not establish that infection
occurred here. The location of exposure remains under investigation,” Olaro
said.
Kaseya urged African leaders not to politicise the outbreak,
warning that blame and isolation could undermine efforts to contain the virus.
“I know politics in Africa… I’m familiar with the politics
in West Africa… my plea is clear to all leaders: we cannot play politics with
this outbreak; we cannot point fingers; we cannot play isolation; we all need
to come together to save our continent,” he said.
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