NCDC identifies two suspected Ebola cases, traces 53 primary contacts

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has identified two additional suspected cases of Ebola virus disease and 53 primary contacts as authorities intensify efforts to contain the infection in Nigeria.

The Director-General of the NCDC, Dr Jide Idris, disclosed this during a press briefing in Abuja on Sunday, October 25, 2026, amid ongoing surveillance and contact tracing following the country’s first confirmed imported case.

The development comes five days after the Federal Government confirmed an Ebola infection in a woman who recently arrived in Nigeria from Uganda, raising concerns about possible transmission.

NCDC identifies 53 primary contacts

The identification of two additional suspected cases does not mean they have tested positive for Ebola, as laboratory confirmation is required to establish their infection status.

The 53 primary contacts include healthcare workers, the confirmed patient’s domestic staff and spouse, as well as health personnel involved in collecting samples from the patient.

• “As of now, we have 53 primary contacts. These comprise 44 people from the health facility where the patient was treated and nine additional contacts,” he said.
• “Of the nine additional contacts, three are household members of the patient, her driver, chef and husband. Three others attended to her at Julius Berger Clinic before she got to the other facility, while the remaining three are members of the team who went to collect samples.”

The latest figure represents an increase from the 44 contacts initially identified when the Federal Government announced the imported case on October 20.

Nigeria’s Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, had earlier confirmed that the infected woman was receiving treatment in isolation, while health authorities strengthened surveillance and infection prevention measures.

Nigeria’s first Ebola case timeline

Nigeria confirmed its imported case of Bundibugyo Ebola virus disease on October 20, following laboratory tests on a woman who had recently travelled from Uganda.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the patient developed symptoms on October 7, four days after arriving in Nigeria, and sought treatment at a private health facility in Abuja on October 11.

Subsequent genomic analysis showed that the virus was closely related to the strain detected in Kenya’s index case, although Nigerian authorities said there was no confirmed direct epidemiological link between the two patients.

The infections have emerged amid a wider Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with cases also reported in Kenya.

The WHO has urged affected countries to strengthen disease surveillance, contact tracing and infection prevention measures to limit further transmission.