Nigeria has confirmed its first Ebola case in more than ten years, becoming the latest and most populous African country drawn into a rapidly spreading multi-country outbreak.
Health authorities announced the case on Tuesday, October 20, involving a woman who arrived in Abuja from Uganda on October 5. She developed symptoms two days later and sought care at a private hospital in the capital on October 11 with malaria-like symptoms. Testing on October 19 confirmed Ebola, with the positive result announced the following day. She remains in isolation and is receiving treatment.
Nigeria’s Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Ali Pate, described the case as contained. Contact tracing has identified 44 people—mostly healthcare workers, along with the patient’s husband (a Swiss national living in Abuja)—who are being monitored. Officials are also tracing passengers from her flights. They do not believe she was symptomatic while travelling.
The infection is linked to the ongoing Bundibugyo virus outbreak that began in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in May. That outbreak has recorded more than 9,500 cases and over 4,200 deaths across multiple provinces and is described by health officials as one of the fastest-spreading on record. It has already reached Uganda and Kenya (which reported its ninth case around the same time). Uganda’s health ministry stated that the patient had travelled to the DRC before transiting Uganda, and that Uganda currently has no active Ebola cases. The precise location of her exposure remains under investigation.
This is Nigeria’s first Ebola case since the 2014 West African epidemic, which the country successfully contained. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) and partners, including the World Health Organization, have activated response measures: intensified surveillance, infection prevention and control support at the treating hospital, and heightened alerts for health facilities nationwide. Minister Pate urged facilities to maintain a high index of suspicion, isolate suspected cases promptly, and report them immediately, while advising the public to avoid contact with bodily fluids of anyone showing symptoms.
The confirmation raises concerns about further international spread through travel, even as authorities emphasise early detection and the country’s prior experience in containing the virus.