Nigeria could be declared Ebola-free by December 7, health minister says
- Health Minister Muhammad Ali Pate says Nigeria could declare the Ebola outbreak over as early as December 7.
- The index patient and her husband were flown to Switzerland on Monday, leaving no Ebola cases in Nigeria, the WHO says.
- The date depends on 42 days without new cases and validation by the NCDC and WHO.
Nigeria could formally declare its Ebola outbreak over on December 7, 2026, provided no new confirmed or probable cases turn up before then, the Minister of Health, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, said on Monday.
Pate, who also coordinates the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, announced the provisional date in a post on his X account. He said the 42-day countdown would still need to be checked and approved by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) and the World Health Organisation (WHO).
His statement came the same day the country's first Ebola patient and her husband were flown to Switzerland for further treatment. The WHO's Regional Director for Africa, Professor Mohamed Janabi, said in a post on X that with their departure, Nigeria currently has no Ebola cases.
Why December 7 is not yet a clean bill of health
Under WHO rules, an Ebola outbreak is generally declared over after 42 days pass with no new cases, counted from the second negative test of the last confirmed patient or from that patient's death.
Pate was clear that the date is a target, not a guarantee. Any new case would reset the clock and push the declaration back.
"This date remains provisional, subject to @NCDCgov and WHO validating the 42-day countdown," he said.
For now, health teams are watching 52 people who had contact with the patient. Swiss authorities are handling her treatment and monitoring her husband, who is counted as the 53rd contact.
Pate said the government's priorities are tracking those contacts, investigating alerts quickly and making sure health facilities across the country are ready. Teams are working with the Federal Capital Territory Administration, state health authorities and development partners to stop the virus spreading in communities.
He asked Nigerians to stay calm, cooperate with contact-tracing teams and follow updates from the NCDC and the ministry.
How the outbreak began
Nigeria confirmed its first imported case of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola on October 20. The patient, a 42-year-old woman, had returned from Uganda, arriving in Abuja on October 3 through Addis Ababa, according to the NCDC. She fell ill four days later and was later hospitalised at a private facility in Abuja, where tests confirmed the infection.
Genomic sequencing released on October 23 showed the virus in the Nigerian patient was closely related to Kenya's first confirmed Ebola case. The outbreak has also hit parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and Kenya. Uganda was declared Ebola-free in August, while Kenya has recorded nine confirmed infections and two deaths.
What happens next: The NCDC and WHO will keep monitoring contacts and checking alerts. If the 42 days pass without a new case, Nigeria can move to declare the outbreak over on December 7. If a case appears, the countdown starts again.
