ABUJA, Nigeria – Nigeria has identified 53 primary contacts linked to a confirmed Ebola case, while a second suspected case in Rivers State has tested negative, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has said.
NCDC Director-General Jide Idris disclosed this at a media briefing in Abuja on Sunday, adding that public health teams were monitoring people who may have been exposed to the virus. “We have established two suspected cases and 53 primary contact links. They are primary contacts. We have an isolation centre and a quarantine centre,” Idris said.
The confirmed case involves a 42-year-old woman who travelled from Uganda through Addis Ababa on October 3, 2026, arriving in Abuja on an international flight. According to Idris, she developed symptoms on October 7 and visited a private health facility on October 10. She was admitted to another private facility the following day.
The NCDC received notification on October 19, investigated the case and collected samples. Its National Reference Laboratory confirmed the infection on October 20. Idris said the woman presented with fever, diarrhoea, generalised body aches and a sore throat but did not report any bleeding.
The agency said it had strengthened laboratory capacity, with about 12 public and private laboratories available to test for Ebola. Idris urged healthcare facilities to strengthen screening, triage and infection prevention measures and ensure staff had adequate personal protective equipment.
He also called on people contacted by public health officials to cooperate with contact-tracing teams and provide accurate information about their movements, contacts and symptoms.
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