RismadarVoice Reporters
October 22, 2026
The Director-General of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), Dr Jean Kaseya, has disclosed that Nigeria’s first confirmed Ebola patient in the current outbreak is the 42-year-old wife of a diplomat who travelled to Uganda before returning to Abuja.
Kaseya revealed that the woman, originally from Uganda but resident in Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory, had visited Kampala for a holiday before developing symptoms shortly after her return.
Speaking during an interview with the BBC, the Africa CDC chief said the patient arrived in Abuja on October 3 and reportedly became ill on October 6.
According to him, the woman initially suspected malaria and sought treatment at a private hospital before visiting another medical facility, where she was admitted on October 11 after her condition failed to improve.
Nigeria’s Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, confirmed that the patient had spent approximately two and a half weeks in Kampala before travelling back to Nigeria through Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Pate said laboratory investigations confirmed the Ebola infection on October 20, following an alert to health authorities the previous day.
The minister disclosed that the patient was receiving medical care in isolation and was responding positively to treatment.
He also confirmed that public health officials had identified 44 individuals who may have been exposed to the patient.
According to him, none of the identified contacts had developed symptoms at the time of his latest briefing.
The contacts are being monitored as part of efforts to prevent further transmission and identify any additional infections.
However, questions remain over where the woman contracted the virus.
Ugandan authorities earlier suggested that the patient had travelled to the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo before passing through Uganda.
The Ugandan government maintained that the country had no active Ebola outbreak and that travelling through its territory did not establish Uganda as the source of infection.
Nigerian health authorities are working with regional partners, including Uganda, Ethiopia and the Africa CDC, to reconstruct the patient’s travel history and determine her possible exposure.
The World Health Organisation confirmed that the infection involved the Bundibugyo Ebola virus, which has been responsible for a major outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since May 2026.
Figures published by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control showed that the DRC had recorded 9,552 confirmed infections and 4,602 deaths as of October 19.
Health officials have emphasised that Ebola spreads mainly through direct contact with the blood or bodily fluids of an infected person who has developed symptoms, or through contaminated materials.
The disease has an incubation period ranging from two to 21 days, making contact tracing and early identification essential to containing transmission.
Nigeria last experienced an Ebola outbreak in 2014, when an infected traveller arrived in Lagos from Liberia.
The country successfully contained that outbreak through contact tracing, isolation and coordinated public health measures.
Pate expressed confidence in Nigeria’s ability to manage the current situation, citing improvements in disease surveillance, laboratory testing and emergency response capabilities.
Health authorities have urged residents to remain vigilant, avoid direct contact with suspected Ebola patients and promptly report symptoms or possible exposure to medical professionals.
Investigations into the source of the woman’s infection remain ongoing.
