Monitoring of 62 Ebola contacts to end by November 13 - NCDC

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has said the 62 contacts identified following Nigeria’s imported Ebola case are expected to complete monitoring by November 13, 2026.

The agency disclosed this in its latest Ebola Disease Situation Report, obtained by Channels Television on Monday, November 2. According to the report, the contacts have different expected completion dates ranging from October 31 to November 13. The NCDC did not provide an individual breakdown of those dates.

“Sixty-Two (62) contacts” had been identified, the report stated, adding: “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 completion date for monitoring the contacts currently identified. Surveillance and contact tracing remain ongoing.

Nigeria confirmed its first Ebola case in the current outbreak on October 20, after laboratory testing detected the Bundibugyo virus in a woman who had travelled from Uganda. The NCDC said additional contact tracers had been identified and trained, while the scope and strategy for tracing contacts had been reviewed and expanded.

The agency also outlined plans to “engage and assess additional contacts for possible evacuation to the quarantine facility” and “continue follow-up of contacts in quarantine”. It said a high-level meeting with partner agencies had been held to strengthen coordination, resource mobilisation and accountability.

Further priorities include continued coordination across One Health sectors and partner organisations, implementation of the Incident Action Plan and stronger preparedness in states considered at high risk. The report showed that 18 samples had been tested since the outbreak was confirmed, producing one positive result and 17 negative results.

The positive sample came from the index patient. Of the negative samples, 15 were collected from contacts of the confirmed patient and two from suspected cases. The NCDC said genomic sequencing had been completed by its National Reference Laboratory and the African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases.

Case definitions had also been reviewed to improve the identification and management of suspected infections. The agency listed plans to review guidance on contact tracing, self-quarantine, self-care kits and the Ebola call protocol. It also intends to develop an Ebola dashboard on the Surveillance Outbreak Response Management and Analysis System, known as SORMAS, to improve contact management.

The National Incident Management System has been activated under the leadership of Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare Professor Muhammad Ali Pate. According to the report, prioritised response activities were continuing across the different thematic areas, and the Incident Action Plan had been finalised. Standard operating procedures and job aids had been validated for receiving samples, molecular detection and genomic sequencing.

The NCDC said it would maintain uninterrupted Ebola testing and confirmation at the National Reference Laboratory, while working to expand testing capacity to Lagos. Other laboratory priorities include maintaining diagnostic records, sharing genomic sequencing reports from the confirmed case and positioning additional reagents and supplies across the national laboratory network.

The agency said it had inspected and assessed the isolation centre and supervised the medical evacuation of the index patient, with measures taken to protect healthcare workers. It plans to review and circulate approved procedures covering triage, isolation, supportive care, psychosocial support and discharge.

Referral arrangements will also be established to move suspected patients safely from the point of detection to designated treatment centres. The NCDC said it would identify and strengthen treatment facilities in states with designated points of entry. On case management, the agency reported further discussions with the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital about its readiness to function as an isolation and treatment centre.

A needs assessment and optimisation exercise at the hospital had been completed. The FCT response team had also been engaged on clinical care and psychosocial support for contacts in quarantine facilities. A dedicated ambulance had been secured and placed on standby for safe patient referrals. The report said infection prevention and control assessments had been conducted across states and health facilities, alongside efforts to sensitise healthcare workers on appropriate precautions.

The NCDC also engaged the facility that managed the index patient on compliance with standard and transmission-based infection prevention measures. Its response activities included refresher training for environmental health officers and terminal cleaning at the patient’s residence.

Planned measures include an infection prevention and control ring strategy using concentric areas around identified risks to strengthen screening and isolation. The agency also intends to assess additional isolation capacity at Karu General Hospital in the FCT. According to the World Health Organisation, the index patient developed symptoms on October 7, four days after arriving in Nigeria. She sought care at a private health facility in Abuja on October 11.

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 patient was medically evacuated to Switzerland on October 26 for further treatment. Her husband, identified as a close contact, travelled with her.