By Godwin Orozo,
ABUJA, Oct. 25, 2026: The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has identified two additional suspected cases of Ebola virus disease and 53 primary contacts.
NCDC Director-General Jide Idris disclosed this on Sunday at a press briefing in Abuja. “We have established two additional suspected cases and 53 primary contact links,” he said.
The two new cases are not confirmed. Laboratory testing is required to establish whether they are infected.
The contact figure is up from the 44 identified when the Federal Government announced the imported case on October 20. It comprises 44 people from the health facility where the patient was treated and nine additional contacts. Three of the nine are household members: the patient’s driver, chef and husband.
Idris said the centre has an isolation centre and a quarantine centre. He added that about 12 public and private laboratories can test for Ebola, and that lab capacity has been strengthened.
Contacts will be monitored for 21 days after their last possible exposure. Idris urged anyone contacted by health officials to cooperate and give accurate information about their movements, contacts and symptoms. He also urged public and private health facilities to strengthen screening, triage and infection prevention, and to ensure health workers have adequate protective equipment.
The index patient travelled from Uganda to Abuja on October 3 via Addis Ababa, developed malaria-like symptoms on October 7, and presented at a private hospital in the FCT on October 11. She was tested on October 19 and confirmed positive on October 20. Health Minister Muhammad Ali Pate has said she is responding to treatment.
