World Health Organization warns that Ebola outbreak complexity increases as cases span East and West Africa

GENEVA — The World Health Organization warned that the Ebola outbreak originating in the Democratic Republic of Congo has grown increasingly complex, with active cases now spanning across East and West Africa.

Speaking during an online media briefing on Thursday, Mohamed Janabi, regional director for WHO in Africa, stated that health agencies are confronting a more complex outbreak landscape. The overarching crisis began when the outbreak was announced in the DRC in mid-May. According to health data, the virus has killed more than 4,000 people out of more than 9,000 confirmed cases in the DRC. Uganda previously recorded 20 confirmed cases—including 15 imported from the DRC and two deaths—before being declared Ebola-free in August.

The geographical footprint widened further this week when Nigeria reported its first case of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola on Tuesday. The Nigerian patient is the Ugandan-born wife of a Swiss diplomat based in Abuja. Meanwhile, Kenya’s Ministry of Health confirmed its first case earlier this month and has reported eight additional cases since, prompting health officials to trace 135 contacts tied to the initial patient. Nigeria is currently tracing 44 contacts, with additional individuals subsequently identified.

Discrepancies surrounding the exact travel history and origin of infection for the first Nigerian patient have triggered conflicting accounts among international authorities. Ugandan authorities stated that the patient had traveled to eastern DRC before transiting through Uganda. Conversely, a Swiss government statement provided to Reuters indicated that the patient is believed to have contracted the disease while traveling in Uganda.

Further complicating the timeline, the WHO and Africa’s top health agency stated they had not received confirmed information indicating the woman traveled to the DRC, noting her records included no travel outside Uganda. Ugandan government spokesman Alan Kasujja rejected suggestions that the patient was infected in Uganda, calling it “preposterous” to link the country solely because she had holidayed there.

Investigating potential links between regional cases, Wessam Mankoula stated that both the first Nigerian patient and the first Kenyan patient departed from Entebbe on October 3, prompting health officials to examine a possible encounter between them.

Health authorities are actively investigating where Nigeria’s first patient contracted the infection and are reviewing which Abuja health facilities she visited between the onset of symptoms and her hospitalization.