Ebola Reaches Nigeria as Africa's Disease Agency Puts the Outbreak's Death Toll Near 4,700

Nigeria confirmed an Ebola case in its capital, Abuja, after a woman who arrived from Uganda tested positive, the Associated Press reported. She developed symptoms on Oct. 7 and was admitted to a private hospital on Oct. 11. Health Minister Muhammad Pate said authorities are tracing 44 contacts. The World Health Organization (WHO) described the outbreak as "complex," and Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, is the fourth African country affected, The Japan Times reported.

The outbreak has killed nearly 4,700 people and is still spreading, Jean Kaseya, director general of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), told RFI. "No country is safe," he said, and he called for tighter surveillance. The outbreak involves the Bundibugyo strain and has become the most geographically extensive Ebola outbreak on record, spread across three regions of Africa, according to the AP. Kaseya put the fatality rate at nearly 50% of cases.

Kenya's response is further along. It will begin releasing the first people quarantined after exposure on Sunday, Oct. 25, according to Capital FM via AllAfrica. The country has recorded nine confirmed cases and one death.