Nigeria confirms its first Ebola case as outbreak spreads to Abuja

A woman who had arrived in Abuja from Uganda began showing symptoms on 7 October, then sought care four days later at a private hospital in the Nigerian capital.

She was treated there for several days before laboratory testing confirmed infection with the Bundibugyo Ebolavirus strain. The woman is now in isolation and receiving medical care.

On 20 October 2026, the Federal Government announced the laboratory-confirmed Ebola case at a media briefing in Abuja. It is Nigeria's first known case in the current outbreak, and follows a period in which the country had no confirmed Ebola case as of 6 October 2026.

Muhammad Ali Pate, Nigeria's Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, said authorities had identified 44 close contacts and started tracing them. “We are doing everything possible to contain this case by tracing all the contacts the individual may have had,” he said.

Those under monitoring include healthcare workers, patients, caregivers and people who may have encountered the woman during her travels or hospital stay. The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, the FCT Health Services Secretariat and other authorities are working together on containment, while surveillance has been intensified.

Nigeria had established an Ebola task force in June after the outbreak began in the Democratic Republic of Congo in May. The government has activated that response while drawing on its experience of the 2014 Ebola outbreak.

The current outbreak has produced more than 9,000 confirmed cases and more than 4,300 deaths, a fatality rate of almost 50%. Uganda was declared Ebola-free by the World Health Organization in late August, after 42 days since a confirmed case. Kenya has recently recorded nine known cases this month.

Jean Kaseya, director general of the Africa Centers for Disease Control, said: “This Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak has already become the most geographically extensive in history, affecting several countries spread across three regions of Africa.”