Following a woman’s positive Ebola test in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the Federal Government has identified 44 individuals who may have been exposed to the virus.
As efforts to limit the infection continue, it has asked travellers who accompanied her to assist health officials.
Prof. Muhammad Pate, the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, revealed this on Tuesday after the case was confirmed in a lab on October 20, 2026.
The minister claims that the woman took an international flight from Uganda to Nigeria. According to reports, she started experiencing symptoms on October 7 and went to a private hospital in Abuja four days later.
Later, when her health worsened, more testing revealed that she had contracted Ebola. She is being treated and kept in isolation at the moment.
Health officials are tracking down everybody who might have interacted with the patient at the time when she might have spread the infection to others.
Healthcare personnel, patients, carers, and those who accompanied the woman on her travels were all covered by the exercise, according to Pate.
The minister stated, “Contact tracing has been conducted, and it’s underway as we speak, with 44 contacts already identified.”
He urged everyone who was approached by public health officials—especially travellers who might have been on the same flight as the patient—to submit truthful information and adhere to their recommendations.
“Anyone contacted during the current contact tracing period, including those who may have travelled with that individual, should follow public health advice and provide the necessary information requested,” he stated.
Following recent cases reported in East Africa, there is rising concern about the potential cross-border spread of Ebola.
Following Kenya’s confirmation of an imported case of Ebola caused by the Bundibugyo virus, which was connected to an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Nigeria Center for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) declared heightened surveillance on October 6.
The NCDC cautioned that migration and travel abroad may make it more likely for the illness to spread to Nigeria.
The agency stated that it was bolstering disease surveillance, laboratory testing, isolation and referral services, contact tracing, and infection prevention as part of its preparatory efforts. Additionally, it was collaborating with national and international health authorities to enhance coordination.
Ebola is a dangerous virus that primarily spreads by direct contact with an infected person’s blood or other bodily fluids. Additionally, infected materials might spread it.
After exposure, symptoms often appear two to twenty-one days later. Fever, intense headaches, weakness, muscle aches, vomiting, and diarrhoea are a few of them.
According to health officials, it is crucial to identify and keep an eye on contacts because individuals who are exposed to the virus might not show symptoms right away. A person may not necessarily have the disease just because they are listed as a contact.
According to Pate, the government is strengthening infection prevention and control efforts by increasing surveillance and providing support to the private hospital where the woman was first treated.
He called on public and private healthcare facilities nationwide to stay vigilant, quickly isolate suspicious patients, and notify public health authorities right once.