The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has reported that the condition of the sole confirmed Ebola patient in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has deteriorated.
On Wednesday, October 21, 2026, during an emergency incident management meeting in Abuja, Olajumoke Babatunde, NCDC Director of Public Health Laboratory Service, stated that the patient’s condition “has deteriorated” and progressed to multi-organ failure. Officials described the patient as a diplomat (reported in some accounts as the wife of a diplomat).
Laboratory testing confirmed the infection is the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola virus (the same strain driving the ongoing outbreak that originated in the Democratic Republic of Congo). Three levels of molecular tests were conducted to verify the strain; the World Health Organization has also confirmed it. There is currently no approved vaccine or specific treatment for Bundibugyo virus disease.
Key timeline and details
- The patient, a woman with recent travel history from Uganda, arrived in Nigeria around early October (reports cite October 3 or 5).
- She developed symptoms on October 7 and sought care at a private hospital in the FCT on October 11, initially treated for malaria-like symptoms.
- Samples were tested after her condition failed to improve and her travel history raised suspicion; laboratory confirmation came on October 20, 2026.
- She remains in isolation and is receiving medical care.
Health authorities have identified 44 close contacts (including healthcare workers, patients, caregivers, and travel contacts) who are under monitoring/quarantine for at least three weeks. Officials are treating the case as imported, with no evidence of community transmission reported so far. Surveillance and infection-prevention measures have been intensified at the treating facility and points of entry.
This is Nigeria’s first confirmed Ebola case in about a decade and the country’s first linked to the current regional Bundibugyo outbreak. The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, NCDC, FCT authorities, WHO, and Africa CDC are coordinating the response.
For information or to report a suspected case, contact the NCDC toll-free line 6232 (available 24/7).
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