First Ebola patients in Kenya and Nigeria may have crossed paths at Uganda airport

Both patients traveled through Entebbe International Airport on Oct. 3, Africa CDC emergency response head Wessam Mankoula said Thursday, according to AP. Officials are racing to trace contacts as the Bundibugyo virus outbreak reaches more countries.

Nigeria confirmed its first case on Oct. 20, a woman in Abuja with recent travel to Uganda, making it the fifth country to detect the virus since Congo declared the outbreak on May 15, WHO said. Nigeria has identified 44 contacts. Kenya has reported nine confirmed cases, including one death, all linked to its first case, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Congo has reported 9,704 confirmed cases and 4,687 deaths.

Why it matters: Cases tied to air travel through a regional hub widen the contact-tracing effort. ECDC rates the risk to people living in Europe as very low.