Nigeria claims genetic link of Ebola virus with strain in Kenya

The Ebola virus brought to Nigeria is genetically related to a strain of this disease identified in Kenya, writes sb.by.

According to TASS with reference to the TV channel Arise News, this was stated by the Minister-Coordinator of Health and Social Welfare of Nigeria Ali Pate.

- This case appears to be genetically related to the outbreak in Kenya, he said. That's all we can say for now, based on genome analyses. There is no evidence that the strain was imported from Kenya, but the link seems clear.

He said the analyses were carried out at the laboratories of Nigeria's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as at Redemir University in Eda, Osun.

On October 20, the Nigerian Ministry of Health confirmed the first case of Ebola in the country. It was about a woman who arrived in Nigeria on a flight from Uganda. Ugandan authorities rejected the suggestion that the infection occurred on its territory. According to the director-general of the Ugandan health service, Charles Olaro, at the time of leaving the country, the woman had no symptoms of the disease.

An outbreak of Ebola caused by the Bundibugio virus was declared in the Democratic Republic of Congo in May 2026. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), by October 20, more than 9.7 thousand cases of infection were registered in the country, almost 4.7 thousand people died. The disease has also been reported in Kenya and Nigeria. In Kenya, nine confirmed cases of infection, two people died, including a 65-year-old woman who died on October 23. In Uganda, 20 cases were reported from May to June, including two deaths. In this country, the WHO announced the end of the outbreak in late August.