The Director-General of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr Jean Kaseya, has criticised what he described as unequal global health priorities, arguing that vaccines would already be available if the current Ebola outbreak were occurring in Western countries.

Kaseya made the remarks during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Thursday, explaining why no approved vaccine or specific treatment is currently available for the Bundibugyo strain responsible for the outbreak.

“If this outbreak was in Western countries, vaccines would already be available,” he said, suggesting that the lack of vaccines reflects how international partners approach diseases affecting Africa.

Unlike the Zaire strain of Ebola, which caused the 2014–2016 West African epidemic and has an approved vaccine, Ervebo, the Bundibugyo strain has no licensed vaccine.

Kaseya disclosed that the Africa CDC had initiated clinical trials of potential vaccines, including a new candidate developed in Egypt, as efforts intensify to improve protection against the strain.

He described the current outbreak as the most geographically widespread in history, saying it had affected three regions of Africa. He also cited more than 9,500 infections and approximately 4,600 deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Meanwhile, Kaseya said it remained unclear where Nigeria’s confirmed Ebola patient contracted the virus, warning against drawing conclusions solely from her recent travel history.

Nigeria confirmed its first case on Tuesday in a Nigerian-born woman who arrived in Abuja with her husband on October 3 after spending time in Uganda.

“What we know is that the lady came from Uganda, but what we don’t know is whether it is a transmission from Uganda, Kampala, or a transmission that came from another place,” Kaseya said.

He added that Uganda had declared the end of its outbreak, noting that the source of the Nigerian case needed to be established before any conclusions could be reached.

According to him, the Africa CDC is working with authorities in Nigeria, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo to trace the source of the infection and prevent the situation from escalating into a diplomatic dispute.

Uganda’s Ministry of Health had earlier stated that the patient travelled to eastern DRC for business before transiting through Uganda, stressing that passing through the country did not establish where she contracted the virus.

Following Nigeria’s confirmation of the case, 44 contacts were reported to be under monitoring as health authorities intensified surveillance and containment efforts.