Ebola: Africa CDC Reveals Origin of Ebola Patient in Nigeria, Seeks Cooperation

The Director-General of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), Dr Jean Kaseya, has called for full cooperation from the Uganda-born Ebola patient currently receiving treatment in Nigeria, urging her to provide authorities with detailed information about her movements and possible contacts.

Kaseya on Channels Television’s Programme Morning Brief on Thursday said the patient travelled to Uganda and spent several days there before her husband flew to join her. According to him, the couple subsequently returned to Abuja, Nigeria, on October 3, 2026.

He said the patient’s cooperation was critical to ongoing investigations, particularly in determining whether she travelled to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), moved outside Kampala, or had contact with anyone from the DRC.

“We want collaboration from this lady. She has to disclose to the authorities if she flew into the DRC, went out of Kampala, and if she was in contact with someone from the DRC,” Kaseya said while speaking on the latest Ebola outbreak.

The Africa CDC chief also urged African leaders to avoid politicising the outbreak, stressing that the response requires cooperation among countries rather than blame or isolation.

“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.

Kaseya warned that the global nature of infectious diseases means no country should assume it is completely protected from the outbreak.

“It’ll be a mistake to think someone in the world is safe today,” he said, while stressing that Ebola should not be viewed solely as a continental disease.

He further described the current Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak as the most geographically extensive outbreak, noting that three regions of Africa; West, Southern and East Africa, are currently affected.