The Federal Government has confirmed an imported case of Ebola virus disease in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), prompting health authorities to initiate contact tracing and strengthen surveillance measures to prevent further spread of the infection.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, disclosed this at a media briefing in Abuja on Tuesday, saying laboratory tests had confirmed the infection in a woman with a recent travel history to East Africa, particularly Uganda.
According to the minister, the patient returned to Nigeria on October 7 with symptoms that worsened four days later, leading to further medical investigations and the eventual confirmation of Ebola virus disease.
He said the woman was initially admitted to a private hospital, where she received treatment for several days before the diagnosis was established.
“The patient, a woman who recently arrived in Nigeria on an international flight from Uganda, was admitted to a private hospital… where she received care for several days before the diagnosis was confirmed,” a government statement said.
“She is currently in isolation and receiving medical care.”
Pate said contact tracing had commenced, with 44 contacts already identified, while surveillance at the country’s points of entry was being intensified to detect and respond to any potential cases.
He explained that the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare was working with the FCT Health Secretariat, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and other partners to contain the infection and prevent further transmission.
The minister urged public and private health facilities to remain vigilant and maintain a high index of suspicion for possible Ebola cases, particularly among patients presenting with symptoms and relevant travel histories.
He also called on Nigerians to remain calm, practise good hygiene, watch out for symptoms such as fever, weakness, headache and diarrhoea, and cooperate with public health officials.
Pate assured the public that the situation was being managed, adding that the government would provide timely and transparent updates as containment efforts progressed.
He said Nigeria was drawing on its experience in containing the 2014 Ebola outbreak, as well as public health surveillance and response mechanisms developed over the years, to manage the latest case. He added that identified contacts were being traced and monitored.
Ebola outbreak raises regional health concerns
The confirmation comes amid an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) that has raised concerns about cross-border transmission and the risk of international importation.
Uganda, which has also reported cases linked to the regional outbreak, has been among the countries affected. Kenya’s Ministry of Health, meanwhile, reported its ninth Ebola case in the outbreak on Tuesday.
The Director-General of Africa CDC, Jean Kaseya, described the outbreak as unprecedented in its geographical spread.
“This Ebola Bundibugyo outbreak has already become the most geographically widespread Ebola outbreak in history, affecting multiple countries across three regions of Africa,” Kaseya said.
Health authorities have continued to warn that international travel and population movement increase the risk of cases being imported into countries outside the initial outbreak areas.
In an earlier statement, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) said it had heightened surveillance and reviewed the country’s preparedness measures in response to the regional outbreak.
“While the case was linked to the ongoing outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), its detection in Kenya underscores the risk of international importation through travel and population movement, including the possibility of importation into Nigeria,” the agency stated.
The NCDC had noted that, as of October 6, 2026, Nigeria had no confirmed Ebola case.
The latest confirmation marks a change in that status and underscores the importance of surveillance, rapid diagnosis and contact tracing in preventing further transmission.
Nigeria recorded its first Ebola case in 2014, when the virus was introduced into the country during an outbreak in West Africa. The country subsequently contained the outbreak through coordinated public health interventions, contact tracing and isolation measures.
Editorial note: Before publication, independently verify the reported case, the patient’s travel history, the number of contacts identified and the regional outbreak figures with the Federal Ministry of Health, the NCDC and Africa CDC. The draft contains a potential inconsistency between the earlier NCDC statement dated October 6 and the newly reported confirmation, so the chronology should be checked carefully.
