WHO Alerts on Ebola Threat as Nigeria Confirms Case

The World Health Organisation (WHO) issued a warning on October 22 regarding a complex Ebola outbreak in Africa following Nigeria's confirmation of its first case of the Bundibugyo strain. The case involves a woman, the wife of a diplomat, who returned to Abuja on October 3 after traveling to Uganda since September 16.

This marks Nigeria as the fourth African country affected by the outbreak, which originated in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and has resulted in over 4,000 deaths from more than 9,000 confirmed cases since mid-May. Mohamed Janabi, WHO's regional director for Africa, stated that Nigeria's case represents an imported instance of Ebola virus disease.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention held an emergency meeting to address the situation. Jean Kaseya, Director General of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, described the outbreak as an "extremely serious threat," with fatality rates nearing 50 percent in the DRC.

Uganda has denied any connection to the Nigerian case, asserting that the country has no current Ebola cases.