The 62 contacts identified after confirmation of an imported Ebola case in Nigeria are expected to complete monitoring by November 13, 2026, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has said.
The agency disclosed this in its latest Ebola Disease Situation Report, obtained by Channels Television on Monday.
Nigeria confirmed its first case of Ebola disease in the current outbreak on October 20, 2026, after laboratory tests detected the Bundibugyo virus in a woman who had travelled from Uganda.
The NCDC did not provide a breakdown of the contacts by their individual monitoring completion dates. However, it said they were scheduled to complete follow-up between October 31 and November 13.
According to the report, “Sixty-Two (62) contacts” had been identified, and “contacts are expected to complete follow-up by November. Expected completion dates range from 31 Oct to 13 Nov 2026.”
November 13 is therefore the latest projected date for completing monitoring of all contacts identified in connection with the confirmed case, although surveillance and contact-tracing activities are ongoing.
The agency said contact tracing and monitoring were continuing, and additional contact tracers had been mapped and trained to strengthen surveillance.
It also disclosed plans to “engage and assess additional contacts for possible evacuation to the quarantine facility” and “continue follow-up of contacts in quarantine.”
The NCDC said a high-level stakeholder meeting had been held with partner agencies to strengthen coordination, resource mobilisation and accountability in the response.
Among its next steps, the agency listed continued coordination across One Health sectors and with partners, implementation of the Incident Action Plan, and strengthened preparedness in states considered at high risk.
On laboratory investigations, the NCDC said 18 samples had been tested since the outbreak was confirmed: one was positive and 17 were negative.
The positive sample was from the index case. The 17 negative samples comprised 15 collected from the confirmed patient’s contacts and two from suspected cases.
The report said, “Laboratory confirmation reported on 20th October 2026,” adding that “Phylogenetic sequencing [was] concluded by NCDC NRL & The African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases (ACEGID).”
The agency said the scope and strategy for identifying contacts had been reviewed and expanded. Case definitions for Ebola disease had also been reviewed to improve the identification and management of suspected infections.
The report further listed plans to review guidelines on contact tracing, self-quarantine, self-care kits and the Ebola call protocol. It also plans to develop an Ebola disease dashboard on the Surveillance Outbreak Response Management and Analysis System (SORMAS) to improve contact management.
On coordination, the NCDC said the National Incident Management System had been activated under the leadership of the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate.
It said implementation of prioritised response activities had continued across thematic areas, and the Incident Action Plan had been finalised.
The agency also said standard operating procedures and job aids had been validated for sample reception, molecular detection and genomic sequencing.
The NCDC said it would maintain uninterrupted Ebola testing and confirmation at the National Reference Laboratory, with plans to expand testing capacity to Lagos.
It also listed plans to maintain diagnostic testing and laboratory records, share genomic sequencing reports for the confirmed case, and pre-position additional laboratory reagents and supplies across the national laboratory network.
The agency said an inspection and assessment of the isolation centre had been conducted and the medical evacuation of the index case supervised, with measures taken to protect healthcare workers.
The NCDC said it would review and disseminate approved procedures and guidelines covering triage, isolation, supportive care, psychosocial support and discharge.
It also plans to establish referral mechanisms for suspected cases, from detection to designated treatment centres, and identify and optimise treatment facilities in states with designated points of entry.
On case management, the agency said it had further engaged the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital on its readiness to serve as an isolation and treatment centre.
It said a needs assessment and optimisation of the hospital had been completed, while the FCT team had been engaged on clinical care and psychosocial support for contacts in quarantine facilities.
The agency added that it had secured a dedicated ambulance and placed it on standby for safe patient referral.
On infection prevention and control, the report said needs assessments had been conducted in states and health facilities, while healthcare workers were being sensitised on appropriate preventive measures.
The NCDC said it had also engaged the facility managing the index case on compliance with infection prevention and control guidelines, including standard and transmission-based precautions.
The agency listed refresher training for environmental health officers and terminal cleaning at the index case’s residence among its response activities.
It also plans to implement an infection prevention and control ring strategy across concentric perimeters to strengthen screening and isolation measures, and assess isolation surge capacity at Karu General Hospital in the FCT.
According to the World Health Organisation, the patient developed symptoms on October 7, four days after arriving in Nigeria, and sought medical attention at a private health facility in Abuja on October 11.
The laboratory confirmation on October 20 made Nigeria the fifth country to detect the virus since the outbreak was declared in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on May 15, 2026.
The index patient was evacuated to Switzerland on October 26 for further medical care, along with her husband, who was identified as a close contact.
