Africa CDC calls an Ebola crisis summit as Nigeria records its first case
-
Click here to listen to this article - Share via
- Nigeria has reported its first Ebola case, linked to a traveler who arrived earlier this month; health officials are tracing 44 contacts, most of them healthcare workers.
- The Africa CDC has called an Oct. 28 emergency meeting of health ministers as cases linked to the outbreak spread across three African regions.
- First detected in Congo in May, the outbreak has infected more than 9,500 people and killed nearly half; the rare virus has no approved vaccine or treatment.
LAGOS, Nigeria — African health ministers were invited Wednesday to an “extraordinary virtual meeting” to discuss the spread of Ebola after Nigeria reported its first case of the disease that has claimed thousands of lives and has spread rapidly since an outbreak began in Congo in May.
Dr. Jean Kaseya, director general of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the Oct. 28 meeting would “strengthen our collective response.”
On Tuesday, Nigeria reported its first case, linked to a traveler from Uganda who arrived in the country earlier this month.
Uganda, which declared itself Ebola-free in July after recording 20 cases, has denied claims that Nigeria’s first case originated there. Nigerian authorities said they were tracing 44 contacts.
The patient, a foreign national who entered Nigeria on Oct. 5, was initially treated for malaria symptoms but failed to recover, arousing suspicions in the attending physicians, Odianosen Ehiakhamen, an assistant director at the Nigeria Center for Disease Control, told a local media outlet late Tuesday.
He said the 44 contacts are mostly healthcare workers but also the patient’s spouse, a Swiss national.
Nigeria and Kenya, which has recorded nine cases, are the latest countries to report cases linked to travelers who passed through Uganda.
The latest outbreak was first detected in Congo in May after spreading undetected for months, according to the World Health Organization. It has since infected more than 9,500 people and killed nearly half of them, making it the fastest-spreading Ebola outbreak in history.
“Ebola is now affecting three regions of Africa. The situation demands urgent action and political leadership at the highest level,” Kaseya said in a post on X.
The WHO said on Wednesday that it had advised “all countries in the region to sustain a high level of readiness as the DRC outbreak continues to evolve.”
In parts of Congo, including North Kivu, health authorities say the disease is out of control, with most recorded deaths occurring in the community and contact tracing struggling to keep pace with the virus’ spread.
The outbreak involves the rare Bundibugyo virus, for which there is no approved vaccine or treatment. France has also recorded a case.
Adetayo writes for the Associated Press.
More From the Los Angeles Times
Podcasts
It started as a ploy to scare Texas out of redrawing its congressional map and ended with California voters approving a new map of their own, one that could hat could help alter the balance of power in Washington.
William Mulholland was the water boss who made L.A. possible. His reputation gave him unchecked authority as a dam builder. In 1928, that led to one of America’s deadliest disasters--and the question of whether it was a crime.
