The Federal Government has confirmed an imported case of Ebola virus disease in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), prompting the commencement of contact tracing and intensified surveillance to prevent further transmission.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, disclosed this during a media briefing in Abuja on Tuesday, explaining that laboratory tests confirmed the infection in a woman who recently travelled to Nigeria from Uganda.
According to the minister, the patient developed symptoms on October 7, which worsened four days later. She was subsequently admitted to a private hospital, where she received treatment for several days before the diagnosis was confirmed.
Pate said the patient had been placed in isolation and was receiving medical care, while health authorities had identified 44 contacts for monitoring.
He added that the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the FCT Health Secretariat, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, and other partners were collaborating to contain the infection and prevent its spread.
The minister urged public and private healthcare facilities to remain vigilant and maintain a high index of suspicion for possible Ebola cases, particularly among patients presenting with symptoms consistent with the disease.
He also called on Nigerians to remain calm, observe proper hygiene and report suspected symptoms, including fever, weakness, headache and diarrhoea, to appropriate health authorities. He urged the public to cooperate with officials involved in surveillance and contact tracing.
Pate assured Nigerians that the government was taking the necessary measures to manage the situation, adding that updates would be provided transparently as containment efforts progressed.
He said Nigeria was drawing on the experience gained during the 2014 Ebola outbreak, alongside public health systems and emergency response mechanisms developed over the years, to address the latest case.
The confirmation comes amid an ongoing outbreak of Ebola virus disease in parts of Africa, including the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda, with other countries reporting cases linked to the spread of the infection.
Kenya’s Ministry of Health on Tuesday reported its ninth case in the current outbreak, further raising concerns about cross-border transmission.
The Director-General of the Africa CDC, Jean Kaseya, described the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak as the most geographically widespread in history, noting that it had affected multiple countries across three African regions.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) had earlier intensified surveillance and reviewed the country’s preparedness following reports of the outbreak in the region.
In a statement issued before the latest confirmation, the agency warned that the detection of cases in countries such as Kenya highlighted the risk of international transmission through air travel and population movement.
The NCDC had stated that Nigeria had no confirmed Ebola case as of October 6, 2026, before the Federal Government announced the latest development.
Nigeria recorded its first Ebola case in 2014, when the disease entered the country through an infected traveller. The outbreak was subsequently contained through coordinated public health interventions, including isolation, contact tracing and surveillance.
