Nigeria Confirms Ebola Case in Abuja, Starts Tracing 44 Contacts

Updated 09:05 UTC, Oct 22, 2026: Patient in multi-organ failure, strain confirmed as Bundibugyo, 46 contacts put on 21 day no fly list

The Abuja patient's condition has deteriorated into multi-organ failure, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention said at an emergency incident management meeting in Abuja on Wednesday, October 21. An official at the meeting said the patient is a diplomat. Her name and nationality were not disclosed.

Olajumoke Babatunde, the agency's Director of Public Health Laboratory Services, said three levels of molecular tests confirmed the strain as Bundibugyo, the strain linked to the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. "We did three levels of tests, but all were molecular. The strain was Bundibugyo," she said. Reporting on the meeting said there is no approved vaccine or specific treatment for the Bundibugyo strain.

The new details fill in the patient's path. She arrived in Nigeria from Uganda on an international flight on October 3, developed symptoms on October 7, and sought treatment at a private hospital in the Federal Capital Territory on October 11, where she was first treated for malaria symptoms before Ebola was suspected. The infection was confirmed on October 20.

46 contacts on a no fly list

Aviation and Aerospace Development Minister Festus Keyamo said aviation authorities will put 46 contacts of the patient on a no fly list for at least 21 days, the period in which Ebola symptoms normally appear after exposure. Keyamo said he held a virtual meeting with Health and Social Welfare Minister Muhammad Ali Pate, who shared a list of 44 people who had contact with the patient at the hospital, plus two members of her domestic staff.

Keyamo directed the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority to notify local and international airlines of the restriction, and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria to strengthen Ebola surveillance at international airports, including health screening, temperature checks and travel history monitoring, working with the disease control agency.

States have also raised their alerts. Reports said Anambra State had monitored 40 persons of interest, with 33 cleared by October 20 and seven still under observation, Niger State put its health system on high alert, and Ogun State was tracing 111 persons of interest.

The case remains a single confirmed infection. No community transmission in Nigeria has been confirmed, and health authorities have urged the public not to panic while tracing and monitoring continue.

Nigeria has confirmed one case of Ebola disease in the Federal Capital Territory, which includes the capital Abuja, and health teams have started tracing 44 close contacts, Health and Social Welfare Minister Muhammad Ali Pate said in a statement on Tuesday, October 20, 2026.

The patient is a woman who arrived in Nigeria recently on an international flight from Uganda. She was admitted to a private hospital in the territory, where she received treatment for several days before laboratory tests confirmed Ebola on Tuesday. She is now in isolation and receiving medical care, the statement said.

Tracing under way

The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention and the FCT Health Services Secretariat are coordinating the response with other authorities, BusinessDay reported. Public health teams are tracing the 44 contacts identified so far and working to find and monitor others who may have been exposed. The contacts include healthcare workers, other patients, caregivers and travel contacts.

Surveillance has been stepped up across the country. The hospital where the woman was treated is receiving support to strengthen infection prevention and control, The Sun Nigeria reported. The government directed public and private healthcare facilities nationwide to stay on high alert, identify and isolate suspected cases at once, follow strict infection control rules and report suspected infections to public health authorities right away.

Pate described the case as contained and said the government had put public health response measures in place to stop further spread. He urged people contacted by tracing teams, including airline passengers, to give the information asked for and follow official guidance.

What the public was told

The minister asked Nigerians to stay calm and watch for symptoms that include fever, severe weakness, headache, vomiting and diarrhoea, above all after possible exposure. Anyone who develops symptoms should avoid close contact with others and call public health authorities for guidance before visiting a healthcare facility, he said.

Ebola spreads through direct contact with the blood or other body fluids of a person who is sick or has died from the disease, or through contaminated objects and surfaces. A person does not pass on the virus before symptoms appear. The incubation period runs from two to 21 days, according to the World Health Organization material cited by BusinessDay. Regular handwashing and avoiding contact with the body fluids of anyone suspected of having Ebola were the main preventive steps in the advisory.

People who need information or want to report a suspected case can call the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention toll free on 6232, at any hour.

Regional risk and the 2014 memory

The confirmation came after the disease control agency warned on October 6 about the risk of the infection being brought into Nigeria, following a confirmed case in Kenya linked to an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Nigeria has faced this disease before. In 2014 the country contained an Ebola outbreak after an infected traveller arrived from Liberia. Pate said Nigeria has the experience and the public health systems needed for the current case, while stressing that stopping further transmission will need public cooperation.

Investigations are continuing. The government said the Presidential Task Force on Ebola Virus Disease and the disease control agency will keep issuing updates as the response moves forward.