Nigeria confirms imported Ebola case in Abuja as NCDC traces 44 contacts
- The Federal Government confirmed an imported Ebola case in Abuja on 20 October 2026.
- Health authorities are tracing 44 people who had contact with the patient.
- Officials urge handwashing, avoiding contact with sick people's body fluids and calling 6232 to report suspected cases.
Nigeria has confirmed an imported case of Ebola in Abuja, the first in the country in more than a decade. The Federal Government announced the case on 20 October 2026 after laboratory tests found Bundibugyo ebolavirus in a woman who had recently travelled into Nigeria.
Health authorities are now tracing 44 people who had contact with her, according to BusinessDay. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) is leading the response alongside the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.
For ordinary Nigerians, the message from officials is simple: the disease is serious but preventable, and the risk rises mainly through close contact with an infected person's body fluids.
What you can do
Ebola spreads when the virus enters the body through broken skin or the eyes, nose and mouth after contact with blood, vomit, faeces, urine, saliva or sweat from someone who is infected. Contact with the body of a person who has died of Ebola can also pass on the virus.
Health authorities advise Nigerians to:
- Wash hands regularly with soap under running water, or use an alcohol-based sanitiser where soap and water are not available.
- Avoid direct contact with the body fluids of anyone suspected or confirmed to have Ebola, and do not care for such a person at home without protection.
- Avoid sharing clothing, bedding, towels or needles that may have been contaminated.
- Not touch the bodies of people who died of suspected Ebola; trained burial teams can carry out safe and dignified burials.
- Avoid handling sick or dead wild animals, including fruit bats and monkeys, and cook animal products thoroughly.
- Seek medical help early rather than self-medicating, and call a health facility before arriving so staff can prepare safely.
Anyone who has had contact with a suspected case should reach public health authorities even if they feel well, because symptoms can take days to appear. Contacts are usually monitored for 21 days.
The NCDC toll-free line for reporting suspected cases is 6232. Nigerians can also contact their State Ministry of Health hotline.
What happens next
Health workers have been asked to stay alert for Ebola symptoms, isolate suspected patients and report cases immediately. Travellers who fall ill after visiting a country with Ebola cases are advised to stay where they are and wait for health authorities rather than moving around.
Ebola symptoms begin like many common illnesses — fever, weakness, muscle pain, headache and sore throat — before vomiting, diarrhoea and, in severe cases, bleeding can follow. Because these signs resemble malaria, only a test can confirm the disease.
Officials urge Nigerians to rely on guidance from the Federal Ministry of Health, the NCDC and the World Health Organization rather than unverified social media claims.
