Nigeria confirmed an imported case of Ebola caused by the Bundibugyo virus in Abuja on 20 October, the World Health Organization said.
The patient had travelled from Uganda and is in isolation receiving treatment, WHO said in its 23 October update. Investigators are still piecing together the full travel history and where the person was exposed. Arriving from Uganda does not necessarily mean the infection was caught there.
It is Nigeria’s first imported Bundibugyo case. That makes Nigeria the fifth country to detect the virus since the outbreak was declared in DR Congo on 15 May 2026, according to WHO. Nigeria had reported one confirmed case as of the NCDC’s 24 October situation report.
The wider picture
The case comes as the outbreak rages in DR Congo, where WHO has recorded 9,704 confirmed cases and 4,687 deaths across eight provinces. Kenya has nine cases, including one death, all linked to a single imported case, with no sign of wider community spread.
WHO says the region needs to stay on alert, with surveillance at borders and airports and fast detection of new cases. For now, Nigerian health officials’ focus is on caring for the patient and tracing everyone they came into contact with.
Related reporting: DR Congo’s Ebola outbreak spreads to eight provinces as many die at home; Kenya’s Ebola cases rise to nine, all linked to one patient.
