Health authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo reported that Ebola cases had risen to 10,060, with 4,887 deaths, as infections were confirmed in Kenya and Nigeria.1,3,4
The outbreak, which health authorities said was identified in mid-May, involves the Bundibugyo virus, for which there is no approved vaccine or specific treatment. The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has described it as the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak in history.1,3
The totals differ between sources. The Associated Press, citing Congo's health ministry, put the latest figures at more than 9,900 cases and more than 4,800 deaths, while Al Jazeera reported that the World Health Organization had recorded 9,704 cases and 4,687 deaths by October 20.1,3,4
In Kenya, nine infections have been confirmed, including two deaths. A Kenyan man who had traveled from Congo through Uganda flew to the capital, Nairobi, on October 3 and died two days later, and Kenya has since reported a second Ebola death.1,3,4
Nigeria confirmed its infection on October 20 in a Swiss woman, the wife of a Swiss diplomat, who had traveled to Abuja from Uganda. On Monday she was medically evacuated to Switzerland with her husband, who has shown no symptoms. Switzerland's Federal Office of Public Health said the couple arrived on a medical evacuation flight, that the woman was being treated at Geneva University Hospital, and that her husband was in isolation at Zurich University Hospital. The agency said both hospitals were equipped to care for them and that there was no risk to the Swiss public.1,3,4
Nigerian Health Minister Muhammad Pate said the woman, the country's first case in the current outbreak, left Abuja early Monday with his approval. Her condition had improved significantly, he said, and she was stable, conscious and able to communicate. "This does not mean she is not still infectious, hence the strict protocols in place," Pate wrote on X.3
The World Health Organization's regional director for Africa, Mohamed Janabi, said the evacuation was arranged because the couple are Swiss citizens, and that Nigerian medical teams had stabilized the woman after treating her through the acute phase of the illness. "With the evacuation of the patient and her husband, Nigeria currently has no Ebola cases," he said, stressing that vigilance remained critical. Nigeria will continue monitoring 52 other contacts.3
How the woman was infected remains unresolved. Nigerian authorities said on Friday they had yet to establish how she contracted the virus. Switzerland's foreign ministry told The Associated Press last week that she had not visited Congo and was believed to have been infected while traveling to Uganda with her husband. Swiss authorities have said a Ugandan-born woman contracted Ebola during a visit to Uganda in September. The WHO said on Thursday that the information it had received did not show she had traveled to Congo herself.3,4
At a briefing in Kampala on Sunday, Uganda's Health Minister Chris Baryomunsi challenged the findings so far about where the woman was infected. He said relatives who had previously visited Congo had met her in a Kampala suburb, and questioned whether that possible route of exposure had been ruled out. "We should speak science, not politics," he said. Nigerian and Ugandan officials are investigating her movements and possible source of infection.4
Investigators are also looking at the Kenyan case. The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the first patients in Nigeria and Kenya had both traveled through Uganda's Entebbe International Airport on October 3. Ugandan officials said on Sunday that security footage showed no physical interaction between the two patients. Nigerian authorities said genetic testing found closely related viruses in the two cases, but that no direct link had been established.3,4
Uganda has ordered citizens returning from travel to Congo to quarantine for 21 days. Baryomunsi announced the measure on Sunday, and the Ministry of Health said returning Ugandans with a history of travel to Congo will have to pay for their quarantine. Officials have also strengthened checks at Entebbe airport and land crossings. Uganda declared its Bundibugyo outbreak over on July 28, after recording 20 infections and two deaths, according to its Health Ministry. Baryomunsi said 60 people traced after possible contact with the Kenyan patient had finished 21 days of monitoring and been discharged.4
The World Health Organization has described the outbreak as the fastest-spreading Ebola outbreak on record and said it is on track to surpass the death toll of West Africa's 2014-2016 outbreak, which killed 11,000 people. The outbreak has reached eight Congolese provinces, making it the country's largest recorded outbreak of the virus.1,3,4
Ebola spreads through direct contact with the blood or other bodily fluids of an infected person, and can cause fever, diarrhea and, in some cases, bleeding. Symptoms can take up to 21 days to appear, according to the WHO, whose October 23 update urged stronger monitoring and cooperation across borders while advising against restrictions on travel or trade with affected countries.1,4
In Kenya, 20 contacts were released from quarantine on Monday, and 98 others are expected to be released starting next Tuesday. "Each of the 20 contacts was assessed against the release criteria, including 21 days without any symptoms since their last exposure," the Kenyan Ministry of Health said in a statement.3
