Nigeria Quarantines 44 After Suspected Airport Link to Kenyan Ebola Death

Forty-four people in Abuja are in quarantine as health officials test a theory linking Nigeria's first Ebola case to a death in Kenya.

The investigation began after officials found that both patients were at Entebbe International Airport on the same day. Dr. Wessam Mankoula, who leads emergency preparedness at the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, confirmed the inquiry at a press briefing on Thursday. He stated the agency is looking for some sort of interaction between the two cases at the airport.

Nigeria reported its first Ebola case in over a decade on Tuesday. The patient is the Ugandan-born wife of a diplomat posted in Abuja. She vacationed in Uganda in September and returned to Nigeria earlier this month. Health authorities said she is currently receiving treatment.

The outbreak began in eastern Congo in May and has become the fastest spreading on record. At least 4,600 people have died in Congo, and roughly 9,700 have been infected. Uganda initially reported about 20 cases but was declared free of the virus in August. Kenya recorded its first case in early October. That patient, who has died, traveled from Congo to Kenya via Uganda. Eight additional Kenyan cases have since been confirmed.

Nigeria is the fourth country on the continent to record an Ebola case in this outbreak. It is the first in West Africa and the farthest from the epicenter in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The country is the most populous in Africa. Ebola spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids or contaminated items. People are generally not infectious until symptoms appear.

Investigators are working to determine how the Nigerian patient was exposed to the virus. The 44 people in quarantine had close contact with her. Health officials are examining travel records and airport data to establish if the two patients shared a space or time overlap at the hub in Uganda.