Nigeria's health minister says first Ebola case remains isolated

Nigeria’s health minister Muhammad Ali Pate said that the country’s first confirmed Ebola case remains "contained" with no evidence that it has spread into the wider community.

The 42-year-old patient is the Ugandan-born wife of a diplomat based in Abuja. She had been on holiday in Kampala for two weeks before travelling back to Nigeria.

Speaking on Thursday, he said she is in a stable condition and “is recovering”.

"Today, I spoke to the clinicians, and I understand that her lab results are showing great improvement and there's a possibility that she would recover from this," said Pate.

The minister urged people to “remain calm” as health ‌officials ⁠intensify contact tracing, adding that they are casting the net wide.

Those who had contact with the patient are in isolation and none of them are known to have developed symptoms.

Pate said there was no reason at ​present to alter plans for large ​public ⁠gatherings, but left open the possibility of additional measures if the situation changes.

"We have ⁠only one ​case, and hopefully it ​will stay that way," he said.

The minister added that Nigeria has stepped up Ebola surveillance at its international airports following confirmation of the case.

The current Ebola outbreak emerged in the Democratic Republic of Congo in May and has since been detected in three other African countries.