Ebola in Nigeria
Situation as of 20 October 2026
On 20 October 2026 Nigeria confirmed its first Ebola case: a woman who arrived from Uganda by air, treated for several days in a private hospital in Abuja before diagnosis. She is isolated; 44 close contacts are being followed. How she was infected has not been published; investigations are ongoing. The figures on this page come from the press statement of the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Health, not from INSP bulletins.
A first case confirmed on 20 October 2026, in Abuja
Day by day
Each line restates a dated fact from the sources listed at the bottom of the page.
Abuja rated high risk
The NCDC places the Federal Capital Territory among the ten states most at risk of importation, because of their international airports, seaports and borders.
NCDC statement
After Kenya's first case, the NCDC says no case is confirmed in Nigeria as of 6 October, that the risk of importation is rising and that it is reviewing it.
First symptoms
A woman who arrived from Uganda by air falls ill (date reported by AP).
Admitted to hospital
She is admitted to a private hospital in Abuja, where she is treated for several days before being diagnosed (date reported by AP).
Case confirmed 1 case
The laboratory confirms Ebola; the Federal Ministry of Health announces it the same day. The patient is isolated; 44 close contacts are identified and monitored; all health facilities in the country are put on alert.
The full account
On 20 October 2026 Nigeria confirmed its first Ebola case of the outbreak that began in the DRC. The patient is a woman who had recently arrived from Uganda on an international flight. The case was confirmed by laboratory tests that day and announced by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, in a statement signed by the minister, Muhammad Ali Pate.
According to the statement, she was admitted to a private hospital in the Federal Capital Territory (Abuja), where she was treated for several days before the diagnosis was confirmed. She is in isolation and receiving care. The hospital is receiving immediate support to strengthen infection prevention and control. According to AP, she had fallen ill on 7 October and was admitted on the 11th.
As of 20 October, 44 close contacts had been identified; teams are tracing and monitoring people who may have been exposed: health workers, other patients, caregivers and travel contacts, including passengers on the flights concerned. The ministry has not announced any other case. The response is led by the federal ministry, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) and the health services of the Federal Capital Territory; updates will come from the Presidential Taskforce on Ebola and the NCDC. The government has put all public and private health facilities on alert.
The statement gives neither her nationality, the date of her arrival nor how she was infected: investigations are ongoing. Uganda, where she came from, declared its outbreak over on 27 August 2026 and has not announced a new case since. The NCDC had listed the Federal Capital Territory among the ten states most at risk of importation since 28 May, and said on 7 October, after Kenya's first case, that it was reviewing that risk. Nigeria contained Ebola once before, in 2014: 20 cases in Lagos and Port Harcourt, after a sick traveller arrived from Liberia.
Frequently asked questions
Is there Ebola in Nigeria?
Yes. On 20 October 2026 Nigeria confirmed a first case, in Abuja: a woman who had arrived from Uganda by air. She is isolated and receiving care. It is the only confirmed case in the country as of that date.
Who is the patient?
A woman who had recently arrived from Uganda on an international flight. The ministry has not given her age, nationality or the reason for her trip; investigations are ongoing.
How was the case detected?
She was admitted to a private hospital in Abuja and treated there for several days before the diagnosis was made; the laboratory confirmed Ebola on 20 October, and the ministry announced it the same day. According to AP, she had fallen ill on 7 October and was admitted on the 11th.
How many contacts are being followed?
44 close contacts had been identified as of 20 October 2026, among health workers, other patients, caregivers and travel contacts. The ministry asks passengers on the flights concerned who are contacted to cooperate with the teams. The ministry has not announced any other case.
Is there Ebola in Uganda again?
Uganda has not announced any new case: its outbreak was declared over on 27 August 2026. The Nigerian ministry has not said where or how the patient, who arrived from Uganda, was infected.
Has Nigeria had Ebola before?
Yes, in 2014, during the West African epidemic: a sick traveller from Liberia was admitted to a private hospital in Lagos. The virus infected 20 people, 8 of whom died, in Lagos and Port Harcourt, before WHO declared the country Ebola-free in October 2014.
Sources
- Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, press statement of 20 October 2026 (on X)
- Associated Press, 20 October 2026
- NCDC, advisory of 28 May 2026 on state preparedness
- News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), 7 October 2026: NCDC statement after Kenya's case
- WHO, 20 October 2014: end of the 2014 outbreak in Nigeria