Health authorities in Nigeria have identified 44 close contacts and intensified port surveillance following confirmation that the imported Ebola case in Abuja involves the rare Bundibugyo strain.

Aviation sources confirmed that the index patient—a diplomat who had recently traveled from the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo—arrived at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport on an Ethiopian Airlines flight on 3 October 2026.

She later sought treatment at a private hospital in the capital before testing positive and being moved to an isolation facility.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) confirmed that laboratory testing identified the infection as the Bundibugyo ebolavirus, a strain currently causing an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Unlike the Zaire ebolavirus, the Bundibugyo variant currently has no approved vaccine or specific antiviral treatment.

Diplomatic coordination and contact tracing

The case has prompted cross-border public health inquiries. Officials in neighbouring Uganda, through which the patient transited, requested full travel and clinical records from Nigerian authorities, emphasizing that Uganda currently has no active Ebola cases within its borders.

Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Pate, confirmed that Nigeria is working closely with Ugandan authorities, the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Africa CDC to trace contacts and prevent wider community transmission.

“We have found this one case. We are doing contact tracing, and we are putting containment measures in place to ensure that it doesn’t go into our population,” Prof. Pate said, assuring the public that health institutions are utilizing containment strategies refined during the 2014 outbreak.

Lawmakers urge compulsory screening and emergency funding

In response to the confirmed case, both chambers of Nigeria’s National Assembly—the Senate and the House of Representatives—passed motions urging the federal government to immediately release appropriated emergency health funds.

Lawmakers directed the Federal Ministry of Health, the NCDC, and Port Health Services to reinstate mandatory health screenings, temperature checks, and symptom monitoring for all inbound passengers at international airports, seaports, and land borders.

The Senate also called for an immediate legislative review of the country’s century-old Quarantine Act to align national health security measures with International Health Regulations.

Meanwhile, political opposition figures have called for public transparency regarding federal budget allocations designated for disease surveillance and protective equipment for frontline medical staff.