Writer and medical historian. Author of Living With Enza, The Fever Trail & The Pandemic Century. http://markhonigsbaum.substack. @honigsbaum.bsky.social
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Joined March 2012
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Mark Honigsbaum retweeted
#ebola
[How did the wife of a diplomat have “close contact” with an active Ebola patient?” ]
➡️ 🇳🇬🇺🇬🇪🇹 Race to Uncover Travel Path of Nigeria’s First Ebola Patient
- Nigeria’s lone Ebola patient was only ➡️ diagnosed almost two weeks after showing symptoms – and is reported to have ➡️ travelled to the capital, Abuja, from Uganda via Addis Ababa in Ethiopia.
- She entered Nigeria on 3 October, started showing symptoms on 7 October and was admitted to hospital two days later – but was only diagnosed on Tuesday (20 October), according to a statement from the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Africa region.
-➡️ The patient is said to be the wife of an Ugandan diplomat. Uganda was declared Ebola-free in August after treating 20 people who had contracted the Bundibugyo virus imported from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
- ➡️ “Investigations are ongoing to establish the likely source of her infection and reconstruct her full travel and exposure history,” said the WHO, adding that Nigeria’s Health Ministry had identified 44 contacts.
- “[These contacts] are being monitored as efforts are intensified to find other people who may have been exposed. ➡️ Infection prevention and control measures are being ramped up in the private health facility where the patient sought care,” the WHO added.
- Kenya’s nine cases were all quarantined contacts of the first case, who died after travelling across the DRC, according to the country’s Health Ministry. Three are health workers, one is a hospital cleaner, and four are relatives of the patient.
- The ➡️ Kenyan government says it has traced 128 of the 130 identified contacts (98.5%) of the deceased, and they are all in quarantine.
- The case fatality rate in the DRC is over 48%, with most cases in Ituri province. ➡️ On Sunday, authorities in North Kivu introduced a week-long ban on people travelling from Ituri in a bid to slow transmission.
- North Kivu’s authorities have also suspended large sporting activities, concerts, parades and nightclubs. They have limited passenger numbers for vehicles and introduced mandatory vehicle disinfection, hand washing and temperature screening at checkpoints.
- In light of the Nigeria case, the WHO Africa region has urged countries to “maintain strong disease surveillance and rapid alert investigation, ensure laboratories can safely test suspected cases, keep rapid response and clinical teams ready for immediate activation, [and] reinforce infection prevention and control in both public and private health facilities.”
- ➡️ African health ministers will meet next week to discuss Ebola as Nigeria reported its first case, Kenya’s outbreak has infected nine people, and the DRC reported 9,455 cases.
- The meeting was announced on Wednesday by the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which ➡️ described Ebola as an “escalating threat to health security across the continent”.
By Kerry Cullinan
healthpolicy-watch.news/race…
Mark Honigsbaum retweeted
The Nigerian case involves a Ugandan woman who arrived in Nigeria's capital Abuja via Addis Ababa on October 5, Odianosen Ehiakhamen of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control told Arise TV on Tuesday.
reuters.com/business/healthc…
Mark Honigsbaum retweeted
Today in the Financial Times @FT
“The genie is out of the bottle,” said Dr Ayoade Alakija, a WHO special envoy for Covid, who is based in Nigeria.
Mark Honigsbaum retweeted
So it seems this Nigerian case, similar to the Kenyan one, travelled from Eastern DRC, and entered Uganda (by land) and caught a flight back to Nigeria. Same itinerary as the Kenyan index case. More info is needed on where the Nigerian entered from but more likely Mpondwe-Lhubiriha border post in Kasese rather than the Kisoro side.
Why? Congo's North Kivu province which directly borders Uganda is currently having an 'out of control' Ebola situation according to the UN, Africa CDC and NGOs like MSF that are trying to contain the disease there. The region has apparently overtaken Ituri province, the initial hot-spot, in cases
But the current war in the area means the situation is nuanced with North Kivu itself. For example Goma, a massive city of 1.5m people which is nearest to Kisoro district and is under M23 rebel control, almost has no ebola. It has registered only a handful of cases since the outbreak, in single digits which the rebel authorities immediately contained through tough measures.
Beni and Butembo on the other hand, 2 other massive urban hubs further north in the province, are swamped with thousands of cases and the situation in rural areas around them is also terrible. These areas, unlike Goma, are under DRC government control.
M23 in Goma has literally imposed a blockade on these neighbouring areas in the same province, heavily restricting movement of people from them to their city. Why? To protect "their" territory.
Early in the outbreak, Rwanda which shares a border with Goma at Gisenyi border post closed it's border, affecting livelihoods of thousands of congelese that rely on the busy border town for trade. Later things were eased a bit. But for Gomalese to entre Rwanda they still have to under go stringent checks and measures.
This is how Ugandan buses still trekk the Kampala-Goma route via Kisoro and Rwanda and back. Because the buses have to cross Rwanda also, via Kyanika (Uganda) and Gisenyi ( Rwanda) border posts, the two international border checks are a good buffer. Actually someone recently told me that the buses nolonger cross Gisenyi into Goma. The Congolese from the other side ( its only abt 5km) have to come by other means, present themselves by foot to Rwandan port health authorities at Gisenyi and enter the country to board Kampala-bound buses or go elsewhere in RW.
However on the other side in Western Uganda on Kasese side, it seems vigilance hss become lax since the outbreak ( DRC is so massive in size that 26 Ugandan districts share a border with it and hundreds, probably thousands of informal crossing 'panyas'/ routes). The Kivus or Ituri provinces are bigger in size than several African countries.
The 133-kilometer route from Butembo via Beni to Kasindi/Mpondwe-Lhubiriha border post into Kasese district especially seems to be risky for us right now. The Kenyan index case used that route to enter Uganda, and ended up at Entebbe airport and flew out to Nairobi without detection.
I think Uganda needs to completely close its land borders with DRC again as they did at the beginning of the outbreak, otherwise we will soon be swamped again @DianaAtwine
✍🏿Public Statement on Reported Ebola Case In Nigeria: We Call For Calm
and Vigilance.
Uganda has No cases of Ebola.
#MOHatWork
Mark Honigsbaum retweeted
Nigeria has confirmed one imported case of #Ebola Bundibugyo virus disease in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), becoming the fifth country to detect the virus since an outbreak of the disease was declared in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on 15 May 2026.
As per the Federal Ministry of Health, Nigeria (@Fmohnigeria):
▶️ The patient is a woman with a recent travel history to Uganda.
▶️ Her symptoms began on 7 October, four days after she arrived in Nigeria, and she sought care at a private health facility in Abuja on 11 October.
▶️ A laboratory test confirmed Bundibugyo virus on 20 October.
▶️ She is currently in isolation and receiving medical care.
▶️ Investigations are ongoing to establish the likely source of her infection and reconstruct her full travel and exposure history.
The ministry, so far, reports that 44 contacts have been identified and are being monitored. Contact tracing is also underway.
Rapid identification of cases, timely follow-up of contacts and effective infection prevention and control are critical to contain the spread of the virus.
WHO and partners are working with health authorities to strengthen efforts to stop the virus from spreading.
WHO urges all countries in the region to sustain a high level of readiness as the outbreak in the DRC continues to evolve.
WHO advises against any restriction of travel to, or trade with, affected countries, and continues to closely monitor and, where necessary, verify travel and trade measures in relation to this event.
WHO regularly reviews the latest information to update its assessment of the risks posed by the outbreak.
Read the full press release: bit.ly/487wX60
ALT Nigeria confirms imported case of Ebola Bundibugyo virus disease 20 October 2026 |News Release
1/ In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ebola control is increasingly seen as a money-spinning operation…
markhonigsbaum.substack.com/…
2/ Perhaps most tragic of all, this “Ebola as business” narrative causes pregnant women and mothers to shun maternity wards and clinics where their children can be checked for Ebola and receive routine vaccinations….
Mark Honigsbaum retweeted
Fear of catching Ebola is keeping many people in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo away from health centers, so fewer babies are being born in clinics and fewer children are getting routine vaccines reut.rs/3VEyihX
Mark Honigsbaum retweeted
Africa CDC says over $700 million in Ebola response funds unaccounted for in Congo reuters.com/business/healthc…
Mark Honigsbaum retweeted
Kenya confirms eighth Ebola case as regional outbreak spreads reut.rs/4isEPVJ reut.rs/4isEPVJ
Mark Honigsbaum retweeted
Kenya has capacities to curb Ebola outbreak despite 7 confirmed cases. My grave concern is whether the DRC epidemic can be contained. It’s still on track to exceed the West Africa outbreak. The DRC’s weak health system, political conflict & public distrust pose major challenges
Mark Honigsbaum retweeted
.@WHO welcomes the adoption of the #UNGA Political Declaration on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response, and commends co-facilitators Armenia and Rwanda for their leadership in building consensus. This important milestone reflects a shared commitment to equity, global solidarity and collective action to make the world safer from future pandemics. We also welcome the ambition to successfully conclude negotiations on the Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing Annex.
who.int/news/item/12-10-2026…
“Ebola is business”: memories of corruption, violence and resource extraction shape how the response to the Bundibugyo outbreak is understood.
BMJ Global Health: How mistrust emerged in real time in the Bundibugyo virus disease outbreak: ‘Ebola business’, social media and the history of mistrust in Ebola epidemics in eastern Congo
Sung Joon Park et al
bit.ly/4yHWE8R
Mark Honigsbaum retweeted
Yet again:
All Ruᛋᛋіan scum that denies or trivializes the suffering they brought to our country, along with every Westerner who denies or trivializes it or dares to suggest we should give in to this evil or that we have brought it on ourselves, needs to and WILL burn in hell.
Mark Honigsbaum retweeted
“We stand with British Jews” = terrorism in the eyes of @MetPoliceUK.
So absolutely we’re suing them.
Utterly disgraceful what they put @markbirbeck through.
There must be consequences for this.
We are proud to fund and provide legal representation for @markbirbeck's claim against the Metropolitan Police, issued today in the High Court in London.
CAA is providing litigation funding to enable Mr Birbeck, the founder of @OurFightUK, to challenge the lawfulness of his arrest five days after the Heaton Park synagogue terror attack.
Mr Birbeck was arrested on suspicion of committing a Terrorism Act offence, a public order offence, and a breach of the peace. Extensive footage shows Mr Birbeck calmly debating with pro-Palestine supporters while holding a sign that read “We stand with Britain’s Jews” immediately before his arrest.
We fully support this action and Mr Birbeck's determination to secure an acknowledgment from the police that their conduct was unlawful.
For years, CAA has provided free legal representation and litigation funding to people affected by antisemitism or victimised for standing with British Jews. Our litigation funding provides access to specialist lawyers and indemnifies claimants against adverse costs.
Mr Birbeck said: “I wanted to publicly display a simple message of solidarity with British Jews just a week after two of their community were killed outside a Manchester synagogue. I was arrested, and the charges brought against me that day are outrageous and baseless. I am grateful to CAA for taking on my case, and ensuring that the police are held accountable. Nobody should be left with a terror arrest on their record for taking such a stand”.
Mr Birbeck’s case is yet another galling example of two-tier policing in Britain. While Palestine activists repeatedly break our laws with impunity, a member of the public is seemingly unable to peacefully express support for British Jews without being arrested on suspicion of terrorism - a serious offence. This is a sobering reflection of the state of our justice system, and that is why CAA has intervened to see that the police answer for their conduct in court.
Those who stand with British Jews will always have our support, and we will not stand by while the law is turned on them instead of on those who threaten our community.
1/Plague is a word freighted with menace. Little wonder then that reports of an outbreak of pneumonic plague at a laboratory in Siberia are sparking biosecurity concerns and fears about the return of a pathogen from the Dark Ages.
telegraph.co.uk/global-healt…
3/... to Los Angeles by diseased squirrels, not rats. Having established a foothold in the Mexican quarter of the city, it morphed into the pneumonic form of the disease.