The World Health Organisation (WHO) has confirmed that the Ebola virus detected in Nigeria is the Bundibugyo strain, for which there is currently no approved vaccine or specific treatment.
The confirmation came during an emergency meeting of health officials following the detection of the first reported Ebola case in Abuja, raising concerns about the country’s preparedness and the need for urgent containment measures.
According to Olajumoke Babatunde, Director of Public Health Laboratory Services at the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), laboratory testing confirmed the strain after three rounds of molecular tests.
“We did three levels of tests, but all molecular. The strain was Bundibugyo,” Babatunde said.
The WHO has also confirmed that the infection belongs to the Bundibugyo strain, which presents particular challenges because no approved vaccine or specific treatment is currently available for it.
An official disclosed during the meeting that the patient was a diplomat and had deteriorated into multi-organ failure. However, the official did not disclose the patient’s nationality.
Patient Arrived in Abuja From Uganda
Fresh information from an aviation official indicates that the patient arrived in Nigeria on October 3, 2026, aboard Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET333, which landed at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.
The development provides additional information for contact-tracing efforts following the Federal Government’s confirmation of the case.
Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, had earlier announced that the female patient recently travelled to Nigeria from Uganda and spent several days receiving treatment at a private hospital in Abuja before the infection was confirmed.
She has since been transferred to a designated isolation facility for treatment.
The Federal Ministry of Health, NCDC and the FCT Health and Environmental Services Secretariat have commenced contact-tracing activities to identify people who may have been exposed to the virus.
Authorities have identified 44 close contacts, including healthcare workers, other hospital patients, caregivers and individuals linked to the patient’s travel.
Health institutions and port health surveillance units across Nigeria have also been placed on high alert as authorities intensify efforts to prevent further transmission.
Uganda Says It Has No Confirmed Active Ebola Cases
Uganda has requested detailed travel and clinical records from Nigeria to establish the circumstances surrounding the infection and determine whether additional contact-tracing measures are necessary.
Uganda’s Director-General of Health Services, Professor Charles Olaro, said the woman’s transit through the country did not establish that she contracted the virus there.
In a statement issued in Kampala, the Ugandan Ministry of Health said preliminary information indicated that the woman had travelled to the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo for business before transiting through Uganda in early October.
According to the statement, she reportedly showed no symptoms while passing through Uganda but developed symptoms after arriving in Nigeria.
The Ugandan authorities said the location where she contracted the virus remained under investigation and that Nigeria had yet to provide the detailed travel itinerary and clinical history needed to guide further investigations.
“The Ministry of Health has noted reports of a confirmed Ebola case in Nigeria involving a Nigerian woman who reportedly travelled to the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo for business,” the statement said.
It added that transit through Uganda did not establish that the woman had contracted the infection there.
The ministry also stressed that Uganda had no confirmed active Ebola cases as of the date of its statement.
Uganda was declared Ebola-free by the WHO in August after an outbreak that recorded 20 cases, most involving people who had travelled from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Nigeria and Uganda Collaborate on Containment
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has confirmed that Nigeria is working with Uganda to address the risks associated with the reported case.
Speaking to journalists after a meeting at the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, Pate said Nigerian authorities were coordinating with their Ugandan counterparts while implementing measures to contain the infection.
“All I can tell you is that we are collaborating with our sister African nation of Uganda. What is important is that we have found this one case. We are doing contact tracing, and we are putting containment measures to ensure that it doesn’t go into our population,” the minister said.
Pate expressed confidence in Nigeria’s public health institutions, pointing to the country’s experience managing the 2014 Ebola outbreak.
“We have done it in 2014, and we have good public health institutions,” he said.
He urged Nigerians to remain vigilant without panicking and advised the public to obtain information from trusted health authorities rather than circulate unverified reports.
“Nigerians should be reassured. We must be vigilant, but not panic, and people should respect public health information from trusted sources, and not spread misinformation and false rumours,” Pate said.
The minister also promised that the government would continue providing updates as further information became available.
National Assembly Calls for Urgent Ebola Response
Following confirmation of the case, the Senate and House of Representatives called on the Federal Government to release emergency funds to relevant health agencies and strengthen the country’s preparedness.
The Senate urged the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, NCDC and Port Health Services to make health screening compulsory for arriving passengers at all international airports, seaports and designated land borders.
Lawmakers called for temperature checks, symptom assessments and enhanced screening of people who had visited or transited through affected areas within the previous 21 days, regardless of their nationality or country of departure.
They also recommended exit screening for departing passengers during declared public health emergencies.
The Senate further urged the government to provide emergency funding and equip entry points with trained port health officers, thermal scanners, protective equipment and isolation facilities.
It also called for isolation and treatment centres to be prepared across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
The resolutions followed a motion sponsored by Senator Francis Adedayo Faduyile, representing Ondo South.
The Senate also called for the modernisation of Nigeria’s Quarantine Act, originally enacted in 1926, to align the country’s legal framework with current international public health requirements.
In the House of Representatives, lawmakers adopted a motion of urgent public importance sponsored by Amobi Ogah, who represents Isuikwuato/Umunneochi Federal Constituency in Abia State.
The House urged the Federal Government to strengthen surveillance, contact-tracing, laboratory testing and emergency response operations.
It also called on the Federal Ministry of Finance to release outstanding appropriated funds to relevant health agencies without further delay.
The lawmakers asked the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the NCDC to assess the additional resources needed to improve the country’s preparedness and response capacity.
Atiku Demands Accountability Over Ebola Preparedness Funds
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has challenged President Bola Tinubu’s administration to account for the ₦10 billion reportedly announced for Ebola preparedness.
In a statement issued by Phrank Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communication for the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Atiku alleged that the confirmed case in Abuja exposed weaknesses in disease surveillance and the protection of frontline health workers.
He called for a public audit detailing how the funds were spent, including disbursements, contracts, recipients and supplies delivered.
“Where is the money? Publish the amount actually disbursed, the dates of payment, every contract awarded, every recipient and every item delivered. A press statement cannot replace an audit,” Atiku said.
He also questioned the time taken to publicly confirm the case, noting that the patient reportedly arrived in Nigeria in early October, developed symptoms and sought treatment at a private hospital on October 11, while the government announced the confirmed case on October 20.
Atiku alleged that the delay placed healthcare workers and other close contacts at risk, claiming that private health workers lacked adequate protective equipment.
He urged the government to explain how the preparedness funds were used and ensure that resources intended to contain Ebola were properly accounted for.
As Nigerian authorities continue contact-tracing and containment efforts, the WHO’s confirmation that the detected infection is the Bundibugyo strain has added urgency to calls for stronger surveillance, adequate funding and coordinated public health action.
