Monitoring Of 62 Ebola Contacts To End By November 13 — NCDC

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) says monitoring of 62 contacts identified following the confirmation of an imported Ebola case in the country is expected to end on November 13, 2026.

The agency disclosed this in its latest Ebola Disease Situation Report, stating that the identified contacts were scheduled to complete their follow-up at different times between October 31 and November 13.

However, the NCDC said contact tracing and monitoring activities were still ongoing, with additional contact tracers mapped and trained to strengthen surveillance and support the national response.

The agency also plans to assess additional contacts for possible transfer to a quarantine facility and continue monitoring individuals already in quarantine.

According to the report, the NCDC has reviewed and expanded its strategy for identifying contacts. It has also updated the case definitions for Ebola disease to improve the identification and management of suspected infections.

The agency disclosed that 18 samples had been tested since the confirmation of the outbreak, with one testing positive and 17 returning negative results. The positive sample was from the confirmed case, while the negative results comprised 15 samples collected from contacts and two from suspected cases.

The NCDC further said it was developing an Ebola disease dashboard on the Surveillance Outbreak Response Management and Analysis System (SORMAS) to strengthen the management and monitoring of contacts.

Nigeria confirmed an imported case of Ebola Virus Disease on October 20, 2026, after laboratory tests detected the Bundibugyo strain in a woman who had travelled to the country from Uganda.

The patient was treated at a private health facility in Abuja before being evacuated to Switzerland on October 26 for further medical care.

The NCDC said the National Incident Management System had been activated, while an Incident Action Plan had been finalised to coordinate response activities. It also listed strengthened preparedness in high-risk states, continued laboratory testing and improved contact management among its ongoing priorities.

Although November 13 is the projected date for completing follow-up of the 62 identified contacts, the agency’s surveillance and contact-tracing activities remain in progress.