New cases of Ebola have been confirmed in Nigeria and Kenya, marking the latest extension of the ongoing outbreak that has become the most geographically widespread in Africa’s history, health officials reported. Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation with roughly 240 million residents, identified its first Ebola case in over a decade on Tuesday night. The case involves a woman who arrived in Abuja after recent travel through Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where the virus remains concentrated.

Kenya also announced its ninth Ebola case on Tuesday. The infections there are linked to a traveler who passed through Uganda from the DRC, the epicenter of the outbreak. To date, the DRC has recorded over 9,550 cases and more than 4,600 fatalities since the outbreak was initially detected about five months ago.

There is currently no evidence of community transmission in either Nigeria or Kenya, and officials regard the cases as isolated. Nevertheless, the detection of Ebola in these countries expands the reach of the Bundibugyo strain to Central, East, and West Africa, a first in recorded outbreaks. Jean Kaseya, director-general of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, characterized the outbreak as “the most geographically widespread Ebola outbreak in history,” urging immediate international support for medical supplies, diagnostics, trained personnel, and enhanced surveillance.

“With mortality approaching 50 percent in DRC, we face an extremely serious threat,” Kaseya said, calling for urgent action to prevent further spread and prolonged impact. He emphasized that controlling Ebola in Africa is vital for global health security.

While the current outbreak’s overall case numbers remain below those of the 2014–2016 West Africa epidemic—which claimed more than 11,300 lives—the mortality rate has increased more rapidly.

Questions remain about whether the Ebola patient in Nigeria transmitted the virus to others. The woman arrived in Abuja on October 3 and began exhibiting symptoms on October 7 but was only diagnosed with Ebola this week, 17 days after arrival. Uganda’s officials reported that she had been in the DRC prior to traveling through their country, but Nigeria's government stated she had spent two and a half weeks in Uganda on holiday before flying to Abuja via Ethiopia.

Nigeria’s Health Ministry said it has identified 44 contacts related to the case and is actively monitoring them, intensifying efforts to trace additional possible exposures. The patient is currently isolated and receiving treatment. The World Health Organization (WHO) is conducting further investigations to clarify the source of the infection and to reconstruct the patient’s full travel history.

Uganda had reported 20 Ebola cases earlier this year but was declared Ebola-free in August, adding complexity to tracing recent infections. Regional health authorities are maintaining heightened surveillance and monitoring at border crossings. The WHO has advised against travel or trade restrictions despite the outbreak’s expansion.

During the 2014 epidemic, Nigeria recorded 20 Ebola cases with eight deaths. Nigerian health officials have urged calm and stressed the importance of hand hygiene, awareness of symptoms, and consultation with public health authorities when exposure is suspected.

The new cases in Nigeria and Kenya pose potential challenges for countries with travel advisories related to Ebola. Canada currently enforces restrictions on travelers from the DRC, Uganda, and South Sudan and requires quarantine for arrivals from Uganda and South Sudan, despite no current cases in the latter two. These measures have reportedly complicated recruitment of specialized health workers to respond to the outbreak in the DRC.

There are no restrictions on travel to or from Nigeria and Kenya, two of Africa’s largest economies, which may complicate future policy adjustments. Canadian officials have indicated they are closely monitoring developments in both countries and could revise travel guidelines based on emerging evidence. The Public Health Agency of Canada maintains the risk to Canadians remains low at this time.