Nigeria Confirms First Ebola Case in Over a Decade as Outbreak Spreads Across Africa

Nigeria has confirmed its first Ebola case in more than a decade, becoming the fourth African country caught up in an outbreak that health officials are calling the fastest-spreading on record. The positive test was confirmed on Tuesday in the capital, Abuja, and authorities have begun tracing 44 identified contacts.
According to Nigeria's Centre for Disease Control, the patient is a woman who arrived in Abuja via Addis Ababa on October 5. She began feeling unwell two days later and was admitted to a private hospital on October 11 with malaria-like symptoms. When her condition failed to improve, doctors learned she had recently travelled through Uganda and tested her for Ebola on October 19.
The outbreak began in the Democratic Republic of Congo in May and has killed at least 4,646 people. Cases have also been reported in Uganda and Kenya. The rare Bundibugyo strain behind the outbreak kills about half of those infected and has no approved treatment or vaccine. Africa CDC director Jean Kaseya warned that the spread from East to West Africa "demands urgent action and political leadership at the highest level."
Source: Reuters (via KTWB) — read more
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