The woman developed symptoms on Oct. 7 and was admitted to a private hospital four days later, where she was diagnosed. Health Minister Muhammad Pate said authorities had begun tracing 44 people identified as contacts.

“We are doing everything possible to contain this case” by identifying people the patient may have encountered, Pate said.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control said earlier this month that it was increasing surveillance and preparedness after Ebola cases were detected in Kenya. The agency said its preparations include early detection, isolation, laboratory testing, infection control, contact tracing and protecting health care workers.

Nigeria established an Ebola task force in June after an outbreak began in Congo in mid-May. The case in Abuja adds Nigeria to a regional spread that has also included Kenya, which confirmed its first case earlier this month and has since reported nine infections. Uganda had reported cases previously but later declared itself free of the virus.

The outbreak involves the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola. Africa Centers for Disease Control Director General Jean Kaseya has described the situation as an “extremely serious threat,” citing a fatality rate of nearly 50%. The outbreak has affected multiple countries across three African regions, and more than 9,000 people have been infected and over 4,300 have died, according to the figures reported by health officials.

Nigeria recorded 20 Ebola cases during the 2014-2016 West African outbreak, which killed about 11,000 people across the region. The World Health Organization has said the current outbreak is spreading faster than any previous Ebola outbreak and could surpass that one as the deadliest on record.