Nigeria confirmed its first case in the ongoing Ebola outbreak on October 20, 2026, after a woman who had recently traveled to Uganda tested positive in Abuja; she was placed in isolation for care, and authorities began tracing 44 contacts.
Laboratory tests identified the virus as the Bundibugyo strain, which is behind the outbreak declared in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in May. The woman developed symptoms on October 7, four days after arriving in Nigeria. She sought treatment at a private hospital in Abuja on October 11.
Health officials said they are still investigating where she caught the virus and putting together a record of where she traveled and when she may have come into contact with it. Her travel from Uganda does not establish where she contracted the virus. The 44 identified contacts are being monitored while teams search for others who may have been exposed, including health workers, patients, caregivers and people connected to her travels.
Nigeria’s disease-control agency has activated its system for managing the response. The hospital is strengthening measures to prevent infections. The World Health Organization and its partners are helping identify people who may have been exposed, investigate the case and provide protective supplies.
Nigeria is the fifth country to detect the virus in this outbreak. According to WHO, Kenya has reported nine cases linked to an infection brought into the country from abroad.