The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has disclosed that the 62 contacts identified following the country’s imported Ebola case are expected to complete their monitoring by November 13, 2026.
The agency made this known in its latest Ebola Disease Situation Report, obtained by Channels Television on Monday, November 2, 2026.
According to the report, the contacts have different monitoring completion dates, ranging from October 31 to November 13, although the agency did not provide an individual breakdown.
The NCDC said surveillance and contact-tracing activities were ongoing to prevent further transmission of the virus.
Nigeria confirmed its first case of Ebola in the current outbreak on October 20, after laboratory tests detected the Bundibugyo virus in a woman who had travelled from Uganda.
As part of its response, the agency said additional contact tracers had been identified and trained, while its contact-tracing strategy had been reviewed and expanded.
It also disclosed plans to assess additional contacts for possible evacuation to quarantine facilities and continue monitoring those already in isolation.
The report further revealed that the NCDC had held a high-level meeting with partner organisations to strengthen coordination, resource mobilisation and accountability.
Other response priorities include improving collaboration across One Health sectors, implementing the Incident Action Plan and strengthening preparedness in states considered to be at high risk.
Laboratory tests confirm one positive case
The NCDC reported that 18 samples had been tested since the outbreak was confirmed, with one returning positive and 17 negative.
The positive result came from the index patient, while 15 of the negative samples were collected from her contacts and two from suspected cases.
Genomic sequencing of the confirmed case has also been completed by the NCDC’s National Reference Laboratory and the African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases.
The agency said case definitions had been reviewed to improve the identification and management of suspected infections.
It also plans to update guidelines covering contact tracing, self-quarantine, self-care kits and Ebola-related call protocols.
Additionally, the NCDC intends to develop an Ebola dashboard on the Surveillance Outbreak Response Management and Analysis System (SORMAS) to improve contact management and monitoring.
NCDC strengthens treatment and isolation capacity
The National Incident Management System has been activated under the leadership of the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate.
According to the report, the Incident Action Plan has been finalised, while standard operating procedures and job aids for sample reception, molecular detection and genomic sequencing have been validated.
On laboratory preparedness, the agency said it would maintain uninterrupted Ebola testing and confirmation at the National Reference Laboratory while working to expand testing capacity to Lagos.
Other priorities include maintaining diagnostic records, sharing genomic sequencing reports from the confirmed case and distributing additional reagents and supplies across the national laboratory network.
The NCDC also disclosed that it had inspected and assessed the isolation centre and supervised the medical evacuation of the index patient, with measures taken to protect healthcare workers.
It plans to review and circulate approved procedures covering triage, isolation, supportive care, psychosocial support and patient discharge.
Referral arrangements are also being developed to ensure suspected patients can be safely transferred from the point of detection to designated treatment centres.
The agency said it had held further discussions with the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital on its readiness to serve as an isolation and treatment centre.
A needs assessment and optimisation exercise at the hospital had been completed, while the Federal Capital Territory response team had been engaged on clinical care and psychosocial support for contacts in quarantine facilities.
The NCDC added that a dedicated ambulance had been secured and placed on standby for safe patient referrals.
Healthcare workers receive infection prevention training
The agency said infection prevention and control assessments had been conducted across states and health facilities, alongside efforts to sensitise healthcare workers on appropriate safety measures.
It had also engaged the health facility that managed the index patient on compliance with standard and transmission-based infection prevention protocols.
Other activities included refresher training for environmental health officers and terminal cleaning at the patient’s residence.
The NCDC further outlined plans to implement an infection prevention and control ring strategy involving concentric areas around identified risks to strengthen screening and isolation.
It also intends to assess additional isolation capacity at Karu General Hospital in the Federal Capital Territory.
Patient evacuated to Switzerland
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the index patient developed symptoms on October 7, four days after arriving in Nigeria.
She sought medical attention at a private health facility in Abuja on October 11 before her infection was confirmed through laboratory testing on October 20.
Nigeria subsequently became the fifth country to detect the virus since the outbreak was declared in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on May 15, 2026.
The patient was medically evacuated to Switzerland on October 26 for further treatment. Her husband, identified as a close contact, travelled with her.
The NCDC said response activities were continuing across various areas, with surveillance, laboratory testing, contact tracing, clinical management and infection prevention measures being strengthened to contain the outbreak.
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