The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that Nigeria is not yet Ebola-free, despite the evacuation of the country’s index patient and her husband to Switzerland. The Federal Government has set December 7, 2026, as the earliest possible date for declaring the outbreak over, provided no new infections are detected.
WHO called for the retraction of misleading reports suggesting that Nigeria had been declared Ebola-free. It said that having no confirmed cases in the country did not mean the outbreak had officially ended.
The warning came as 52 people remained under surveillance, four states stepped up emergency preparedness, and African and European medicines regulators moved to accelerate vaccine development against the Bundibugyo virus. The virus has caused an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where thousands of deaths have been reported.
In a clarification posted on its official X account yesterday, WHO described reports that Nigeria had been declared Ebola-free as inaccurate and misleading.
“WHO has not declared Nigeria Ebola-free. Nigeria currently has no confirmed case of Ebola following the medical evacuation of the index patient to Switzerland.”
The organisation explained that, under outbreak-closure criteria, a country must complete a 42-day countdown after the last confirmed patient tests negative twice for the virus or, as in Nigeria’s case, after the confirmed patient is evacuated.
The period represents twice Ebola’s maximum 21-day incubation period. It must pass without any further confirmed or probable infections before the outbreak can be declared over. Heightened surveillance must continue afterwards.
WHO’s clarification followed an earlier statement by its Regional Director for Africa, Mohamed Janabi, that Nigeria had no current Ebola cases after the infected woman and her husband left the country.
“With the evacuation of the patient and her husband, Nigeria currently has no Ebola cases.
“However, vigilance remains critical. Nigeria will continue the close follow-up of 52 contacts, while Switzerland will assume responsibility for the continued management of the patient and the follow-up of contact number 53, her husband,” Janabi said.
The clarification followed media reports that interpreted Janabi’s statement as an official declaration that Nigeria had overcome the outbreak.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Ali Pate, said Nigeria could begin the process of declaring the outbreak over as early as December 7, subject to validation by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) and WHO.
“If no further confirmed or probable cases are detected, Nigeria could progress towards declaring this outbreak over under WHO criteria, potentially as early as 7 December 2026.”
Pate warned that another confirmed or probable case would reset the countdown. He said surveillance, contact tracing, prompt investigation of suspected infections and stronger preparedness across health facilities remained the government’s immediate priorities.
“Following the imported Ebola index patient’s medical evacuation from Nigeria today, 26 October, our immediate priorities remain active monitoring of all identified contacts, prompt investigation of alerts and strengthened readiness across our health facilities,” he said.
The minister said response teams were working with the Federal Capital Territory Administration, state health authorities and development partners to prevent community transmission.
The 42-year-old index patient, a Swiss citizen, was medically evacuated from Abuja on Monday morning with her husband, after Nigerian medical personnel managed the acute phase of her illness and stabilised her condition.
Pate said the woman was conscious, clinically stable and communicating before her departure, with laboratory indicators showing significant improvement.
He cautioned, however, that clinical recovery did not necessarily mean she was no longer infectious.
“This does not mean she is not still infectious, hence the strict protocols in place,” he said.
Her husband, who accompanied her on the medical evacuation flight, remained asymptomatic and tested negative for the virus.
The NCDC had identified 53 contacts, including healthcare workers, domestic staff and the patient’s husband. With Switzerland assuming responsibility for monitoring him, Nigerian health authorities will continue to follow up with the remaining 52 contacts for 21 days from their last possible exposure.
No secondary infections had been confirmed among the identified contacts. A suspected case reported in Rivers State on October 23 also tested negative.
Meanwhile, the Academy of Medical Sciences of Nigeria urged the NCDC to intensify contact tracing and complete the mandatory follow-up of all exposed people. It warned that the patient’s evacuation did not end the country’s public health responsibilities.
In a statement signed by its president, Osato Giwa-Osagie, and other officials, the academy emphasised the need for continued monitoring of healthcare workers, domestic staff and others who might have been exposed.
It said the medical evacuation was permissible under the International Health Regulations, provided established safety procedures were followed. However, it noted that the patient’s samples remained positive as of October 25.
The academy commended Nigerian clinicians, nurses, laboratory scientists and public health personnel for stabilising the patient before her evacuation. It also called for adequate protection of frontline workers, improved isolation facilities and transparent public communication.
According to the NCDC, the index patient arrived in Abuja on October 3 after travelling from Uganda through Addis Ababa. She developed symptoms on October 7 and later sought treatment at private health facilities.
The agency was notified on October 19, and laboratory tests confirmed Ebola disease caused by the Bundibugyo virus on October 20.
The patient’s symptoms included fever, diarrhoea, generalised body aches and a sore throat, but no bleeding was reported. Further investigations into the source of her infection have revealed a possible connection to the outbreak in Kenya.
Pate said genomic analysis by the NCDC and the Institute of Genomics and Global Health at Redeemer’s University in Ede, Osun State, indicated that the virus detected in Nigeria was closely related to the one identified in Kenya’s index patient.
He stressed, however, that the genetic similarity did not establish a direct transmission link or explain how the Nigerian patient became infected.
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) is also deploying a team of scientists, led by Congolese Ebola expert Jean-Jacques Muyembe, to investigate the possible source of the infection. The team will examine whether the Nigerian and Kenyan patients might have crossed paths while travelling through Uganda.
The investigation is expected to help determine whether the cases share a common source or transmission pathway, amid concerns about possible undetected infections elsewhere in the region.
As federal authorities continue surveillance, state governments have stepped up measures to prevent further importation and possible community transmission.
In Kebbi State, the government has strengthened screening of travellers at Sir Ahmadu Bello International Airport in Birnin Kebbi and at land-border crossings in Bagudo, Kamba and Arewa.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Zaki Abubakar Zaki, said passengers were being screened at designated entry and exit points to help identify and refer suspected cases early.
He said personal protective equipment had also been supplied to general hospitals to protect frontline health workers, while public health officials coordinated surveillance and infection-prevention activities.
In Plateau State, the government has reactivated isolation centres, strengthened disease surveillance and stepped up public awareness campaigns.
The Commissioner for Health, Nicholas Ba’amlong, who announced the measures in Jos on Monday, said the state’s emergency preparedness team had been directed to assess safety arrangements at the airport and place local government areas bordering neighbouring states on heightened alert.
“We advise the people to maintain good hygiene, wash their hands regularly and avoid direct contact with the blood and body fluids of suspected infected persons,” he said.
He said the measures complemented resolutions of the 12th Plateau State Council on Health, including the establishment of a health trust fund, provisions for public health emergencies and measures to address shortages of health workers.
Although Plateau had recorded no Ebola cases, Ba’amlong said precautionary measures remained necessary.
The Yobe State Government has also activated its Public Health Emergency Incident Management System and placed its Emergency Operations Centre on high alert to coordinate surveillance and response across the state’s 17 local government areas.
The Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Mohammed Lawan Gana, represented at a briefing in Damaturu by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Hadiza Sabo, said the government had developed a comprehensive emergency preparedness and response plan.
He said isolation and treatment facilities had been identified across the state’s three senatorial zones, with plans to strengthen them through medical supplies, protective equipment and training.
Disease surveillance officers had also been directed to investigate suspected infections promptly, while laboratory readiness was being improved through sample-collection kits and collaboration with the NCDC.
The commissioner said cross-border surveillance had been intensified in cooperation with border authorities and transport unions. Public awareness campaigns were also being conducted through broadcast media, traditional rulers, religious leaders and community communication channels.
“The state has no case of Ebola, but we are taking no chances,” Gana said.
He urged residents to report symptoms such as fever, severe weakness, vomiting, diarrhoea and unexplained bleeding. He also cautioned against misinformation and the stigmatisation of people identified through contact tracing.
In Delta State, the government has reviewed its emergency response arrangements, disease surveillance systems and available resources to strengthen preparedness across its 25 local government areas.
The Commissioner for Health, Joseph Onojaeme, said the state was intensifying monitoring at entry points, healthcare facilities and in communities to ensure suspected infections were detected and investigated early.
He directed the Ministry of Health’s Epidemiology Unit to strengthen disease reporting and ensure frontline health workers received regular training in case identification, infection prevention and emergency response.
The government, he said, would continue to provide protective equipment, testing kits and other essential supplies, while strengthening designated health facilities and public awareness campaigns.
The Federal Medical Centre, Asaba, has also strengthened its preparedness in collaboration with WHO and the state government. Health officials emphasised the importance of coordinated surveillance and ensuring isolation facilities were ready.
Meanwhile, growing international concern over the Bundibugyo outbreak has prompted the African Medicines Agency (AMA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to issue joint guidance on accelerating clinical trials of potential vaccines against the virus.
Following consultations with WHO, the agencies recommended that promising vaccine candidates move through clinical development without unnecessary delays, while maintaining rigorous scientific evaluation and protecting trial participants.
The initiative comes amid sustained transmission in the DRC. WHO reported 9,704 confirmed cases and 4,687 deaths across 66 health zones in eight provinces as of October 20, a case-fatality ratio of 48.3 per cent.
Kenya had recorded nine confirmed cases, including one death, as of the same date. All eight secondary infections were linked to its imported index case.
In a joint position paper published on October 23, the African and European regulators proposed that early-stage vaccine trials preferably be conducted in Africa to enable larger studies involving affected populations.
They recommended developing single-dose vaccines where feasible, given their potential advantages during emergency deployment. They also proposed a Phase 3 platform trial using a ring-vaccination approach involving close contacts of confirmed cases.
Under the proposal, multiple vaccine candidates could be assessed within a common trial framework, potentially speeding up the generation of evidence about their effectiveness.
The regulators also recommended including children and pregnant women in clinical studies once sufficient preliminary safety information had been established among adults.
They said certain repeat-dose toxicity studies could be postponed or waived for vaccine candidates developed using sufficiently established technologies, including messenger RNA and some viral-vector platforms, where existing evidence justified such decisions.
However, the agencies insisted that regulatory flexibility must not compromise scientific standards or participant safety.
The development coincided with the start of the Tumaini Phase 2/3 vaccine trial in Bunia, DRC, where the first participant was vaccinated on October 23.
The trial will assess the safety and effectiveness of multiple vaccine candidates against Bundibugyo virus, including Ervebo. The vaccine is licensed for Ebola disease caused by the Zaire virus, but its effectiveness against Bundibugyo has yet to be established.
No vaccine has yet been approved specifically for Bundibugyo virus disease.
The trial is expected to generate evidence that could guide future vaccine approvals and strengthen the international response to the outbreak.
For Nigeria, the immediate task remains completing contact monitoring, investigating suspected infections and maintaining effective surveillance at airports, land borders, healthcare facilities and in communities.
Although the evacuation of the index patient has left Nigeria without a confirmed Ebola case within its borders, WHO says only completion of the required outbreak-closure period and validation by the relevant health authorities can establish whether transmission has been interrupted.
Until then, the December 7 target remains conditional on Nigeria recording no further confirmed or probable cases.
