Yobe activates Ebola response system, says no case recorded in state

Yobe State has not recorded any case of Ebola, but it has switched on its public health emergency response system after Nigeria confirmed an imported case of the virus in Abuja, the state government said on Monday.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) confirmed the case on October 20, 2026. According to the state Ministry of Health and Human Services, the patient is a diplomat who arrived from Uganda and tested positive for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola. The patient is in isolation and receiving care.

Speaking at a press briefing at the State Emergency Operations Centre in Damaturu, the ministry's Permanent Secretary, Hajiya Hadiza Sabo, said Governor Mai Mala Buni had directed the activation of the Public Health Emergency Incident Management System and the drawing up of a full preparedness and response plan.

Sabo said 53 close contacts, including health workers, patients, caregivers and travel contacts, had been identified and were being monitored as of October 24. She added that 46 exposed persons have been placed on a 21-day no-fly list as a precaution.

The NCDC has rated the risk of Ebola entering Nigeria as high, citing rising transmission in the region, international travel and porous borders. There is no evidence yet of community spread in the country, Sabo said.

Border watch and isolation centres

Yobe shares a border with other countries, and the state is working with transport and border authorities at key entry points to spot and report health threats quickly, Sabo said. She listed the six areas of focus as coordination and surveillance, case management, infection prevention and control, laboratory services, communication and community engagement, and points of entry.

Surveillance has been stepped up across all 17 local government areas, with disease surveillance officers told to check every rumour or alert. Isolation and treatment centres in the three senatorial zones have been stocked with medicines and personal protective equipment, and frontline health workers have been retrained on infection control, safe sample collection and patient care.

The state is also using radio, television and community announcements, and working with traditional leaders, to spread the message that Ebola is real but can be prevented and controlled.

Sabo advised residents to wash hands often with soap and water or use an alcohol-based sanitiser, avoid direct contact with the blood or bodily fluids of anyone who is sick, and avoid burial practices that involve touching the deceased. She asked people to report any unusual illness or death to the nearest health facility immediately.

She also urged residents not to stigmatise people identified as contacts, saying being a contact does not mean a person has Ebola, and to rely only on verified information from the state Ministry of Health and the NCDC.

What happens next

Contacts will be monitored for 21 days, the usual Ebola incubation period. The state's emergency operations centre remains on high alert, with support from the NCDC, the World Health Organization and UNICEF.