Africa CDC calls emergency meeting as Ebola outbreak spreads to Nigeria

Africa’s top public health agency said late Wednesday it will convene an “extraordinary virtual meeting” of national health officials Oct. 28 as the continent’s latest Ebola outbreak continues to spread.

More than 9,500 people have been infected since the virus was first confirmed in the Democratic Republic of Congo in May. Nearly half of them have died.

The announcement by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention came a day after news that the virus had reached Nigeria. Officials there said it arrived with a woman who had returned from Uganda earlier this month.

Nigerian authorities said they are tracing 44 contacts. Health Minister Muhammad Pate said officials are “doing everything possible to contain this case.”

Uganda rejected Nigeria’s claims. The country recorded 20 cases in this outbreak and declared itself Ebola-free in July. The World Health Organization declared the Ugandan outbreak over Aug. 27.

The outbreak involves the rare Bundibugyo strain of the virus, for which no approved vaccines or treatments exist. Laboratory tests matched the strain to the patient in Nigeria.

“We did three levels of tests, but all molecular. The strain was Bundibugyo,” said Olajumoke Babatunde, director of the public health laboratory service at the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.

The WHO says it is the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record. It has spread to four African countries and is active in two. It has also reached farther than previous outbreaks, affecting central, eastern and western Africa.

A French doctor doing humanitarian work in transmission zones in Congo was infected but recovered after treatment at a specialized facility in France.

Africa CDC Director General Dr. Jean Kaseya said the Oct. 28 meeting is meant to “strengthen our collective response.” In a post on X late Wednesday, he said Ebola is now affecting three regions of Africa and called for “urgent action and political leadership at the highest level.”

“We must now accelerate our actions, reinforce coordination and mobilize the full strength of our continent,” Kaseya wrote. “Africa has the expertise, the institutions and the capacity to defeat this outbreak. We must act together and we must act now.”

The WHO advised all countries in the region to “sustain a high level of readiness as the DRC outbreak continues to evolve.”