Ebola cases in Kenya and Nigeria linked to Uganda's Entebbe airport

Both confirmed Ebola patients — one in Kenya, one in Nigeria — passed through Entebbe International Airport on 3 October, according to Wessam Mankoula, head of emergency preparedness and response at the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Mankoula said investigators are examining whether the two patients were at the airport simultaneously and whether their movements overlapped. It has not been established whether any transmission occurred at the airport.

Nigeria's Health Minister Muhammad Ali Pate confirmed an imported case in Abuja involving a woman who developed symptoms on 7 October and visited a private health facility on 11 October. Laboratory testing confirmed Ebola and she was subsequently isolated for treatment. Health officials identified 44 contacts, including healthcare workers, caregivers and patients.

Uganda's Health Ministry said preliminary findings indicate the Nigerian patient travelled to eastern Democratic Republic of Congo for business before transiting Uganda without symptoms. "Travel through Uganda does not establish that infection occurred here," the ministry said in a 20 October statement.

Switzerland's Federal Department of Foreign Affairs directly disputed that account on Friday, contradicting Uganda's version of the Nigerian patient's travel history. The wire does not detail what Switzerland's counter-claim states beyond that dispute.

Uganda reports no active confirmed Ebola cases.