JONATHAN M. METSCH, Dr.P.H. – Tracking Emerging Public Health Challenges – October 22, 2026 – EBOLA
“The Ebola epidemic that began in the Democratic Republic of Congo earlier this year has achieved a grim new milestone, turning up in a third region of the African continent, the widest footprint of any Ebola outbreak to date.
This week, health officials identified a new case in Abuja, Nigeria, more than 2,000 miles west of the outbreak’s epicenter in Central Africa. The news came the same day as the announcement of a ninth case of Ebola in the East African country of Kenya.
Dr. Jean Kaseya, director general of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, said in an interview on Wednesday that he was calling for a meeting of all African health ministers on Oct. 28. If they cannot come up with ways to stamp out the outbreak, he said, “the whole continent can be affected.”
Since the first case was identified in May, Congo has recorded more than 9,700 confirmed cases and more than 4,600 deaths, making the outbreak the fastest growing Ebola epidemic ever. Within Congo, the disease has spread to eight provinces, and about 70 percent of new cases occur in the community, suggesting widespread undetected transmission.” (1)
“Nigeria confirmed an Ebola case in its capital, Abuja, on Tuesday after a woman who arrived from Uganda tested positive for the virus, the Health Ministry said.
The woman began showing symptoms on Oct. 7 and was admitted to a private hospital in Abuja on Oct. 11, where she was later diagnosed with Ebola. It is unclear when she arrived in Nigeria.
Health Minister Muhammad Pate said authorities had begun tracing 44 people identified as contacts of the patient. “We are doing everything possible to contain this case by tracing all the contacts the individual may have had,” he said.
Uganda had previously reported Ebola cases, but it later declared itself free of the virus.
Uganda’s Ministry of Health said the patient had only transited through Uganda and that she is a Nigerian woman who had been on a business trip to Congo’s eastern region. The Nigerian authorities have not disclosed her nationality.” (2)
“The first Ebola patients confirmed in Kenya and Nigeria might have crossed paths at an airport in Uganda earlier this month, African health officials said Thursday as they race to trace and slow an outbreak that has spread to several African countries.
Both patients are known to have traveled through Uganda’s Entebbe International Airport on Oct. 3, said Dr. Wessam Mankoula, head of emergency preparedness and response at the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“One of the issues we are currently investigating has been some sort of interaction between the two cases at the airport,” Mankoula said.” (3)
“Separately, a senior Kenyan health official said authorities there had now traced all 135 contacts of the country’s first Ebola case, which was confirmed on October 6 and after which a further eight cases have been reported.
“We have been able to account for them 100%,” health ministry director-general Patrick Amoth said. He said the last contact to be traced was a citizen of Uganda who had arrived in Kenya in early October on the same flight as the index patient but exited by road via the Namanga border post with Tanzania, which meant it took more time to find him.” (4)
“A recurring problem is poor surveillance at entry points, as most initial cases were confirmed long after people arrived from territories where Ebola is active and started showing symptoms.
“Ebola is crossing borders. Our response must move faster, with stronger coordination, greater solidarity and decisive political leadership,” Dr. Jean Kaseya, director general of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said on Wednesday.” (5)
“The Nigerian case has reignited memories of a widespread west African outbreak that struck several countries and killed more than 11,000 people between late 2013 and 2016.
Nigeria successfully held back that outbreak within its borders, resulting in only 19 infections and seven deaths — raising confidence the densely packed nation of 240 million can respond effectively to new public health threats.
“It is contained, so far, the imported case. We have no evidence it has gone into the communities,” Pate told a news conference in Abuja. “So our focus is on the contact tracing and ensuring that we know exactly where those contacts are.”” (6)
“When the Ebola outbreak struck Ituri province, the Lita General Reference Hospital (HGR) found itself on the front line, facing unprecedented pressure. Dilapidated infrastructure, a shortage of beds, and the absence of a functional laboratory made patient care extremely difficult, both for Ebola patients and for others not affected by the Bundibugyo virus. “From the very beginning, internal medicine unit was urgently targeted to receive Ebola patients, and it was not easy. We had to put two patients together on the same bed,” recalls Dr Alphonse Abekani Jawotho, the hospital’s medical director.
This situation had a considerable impact on attendance at this referral health facility. The maternity ward, which averaged 80 deliveries per month, saw that number cut in half in the first weeks after the outbreak was declared. In June, only 42 deliveries were performed, reflecting the community’s mistrust of a hospital that had become an Ebola treatment centre.
To expand capacity and provide facilities that met safety standards in the context of the outbreak, the World Health Organization (WHO) installed three tents and supplied 29 beds and mattresses for maternity and pediatrics. Beyond beds, support included essential equipment such as oxygen concentrators, monitoring devices, personal protective equipment (PPE), and medicines. “The PPE we received was sufficient to cover our needs for three to four months,” notes Dr Jawotho. The hospital also received two new ambulances dedicated to the Ebola response, while the old ambulance continues to serve other patients.
These investments enabled the hospital not only to respond immediately to Ebola but also to ensure continuity of care for the wider population, improving patient comfort and reducing exposure risks.” (7)
Large-scale meteorological patterns linked to Ebola virus outbreaks, https://www.news-medical.net/news/20261022/Large-scale-meteorological-patterns-linked-to-Ebola-virus-outbreaks.aspx
1.Ebola Outbreak in Africa Reaches Widest Expansion Ever, By Apoorva Mandavilli, https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/22/health/ebola-nigeria-congo-kenya.html#:~:text=Ebola%20Outbreak%20in%20Africa%20Reaches%20Widest%20Expansion%20Ever
2.Nigeria confirms Ebola case in Abuja as woman who arrived from Uganda tests positive, By OPE ADETAYO, https://apnews.com/article/nigeria-ebola-first-case-africa-d39e454fbe1be1243e4e39fb46939f62
3.First Ebola patients in Nigeria and Kenya might have crossed paths at Uganda airport, By OPE ADETAYO, https://apnews.com/article/ebola-congo-uganda-nigeria-kenya-aad964dbbbca2f39e00739108ef7fc0a
4.Ebola patient in Nigeria believed to have contracted disease in Uganda, Switzerland says, By Clement Bonnerot, Anait Miridzhanian and Robbie Corey-Boulet, https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/who-was-not-told-that-nigerias-ebola-patient-travelled-congo-official-says-2026-10-22/
5.What to know about Ebola outbreak that has spread from Congo to multiple African countries, by AP, https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/associated-press/what-to-know-about-ebola-outbreak-that-has-spread-from-congo-to-multiple-african-countries/
6.Africa faces ‘complex’ Ebola outbreak after spread to Nigeria: WHO, Tonye Bakare and Susan Njanji with Dylan Gamba , https://www.yahoo.com/news/world/articles/africa-faces-complex-ebola-outbreak-140052244.html
7.Continuity of care in Lita: A hospital transformed by the Ebola response, https://www.afro.who.int/countries/democratic-republic-of-congo/news/continuity-care-lita-hospital-transformed-ebola-response
curated by Jonathan M. Metsch, Dr.P.H.
Clinical Professor of Environmental Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai