A case of contamination with the new coronavirus, an Italian national, was confirmed Thursday in Nigeria. It is the first confirmed and official contamination in sub-Saharan Africa, hitherto apparently preserved from the global epidemic.

The Federal Ministry of Health of Nigeria "has confirmed a case of coronavirus (Covid-19) in the state of Lagos. This case, which was confirmed on February 27, 2020, is the first to be reported in Nigeria since the beginning of the year. 'epidemic', he said on Twitter.

The ministry specifies that it is about an Italian national working in Nigeria and who returned to this country from the Italian city of Milan on February 25. Hospitalized in Lagos, "the patient is in a stable clinical state and does not present any worrying symptoms", assured the ministry.

Two cases in North Africa

This is the first confirmed contamination in sub-Saharan Africa. Two other cases have been recorded in recent days in two North African countries, Egypt and Algeria. No deaths have so far been reported on the continent.

This very low number of cases detected in African countries, with fragile health systems, intrigues epidemiologists, while more than 81,000 cases have been reported elsewhere in the world.