…Regional health agency warns of growing threat as Nigeria traces 44 contacts, DRC battles outbreak
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has called for urgent international intervention to contain the Ebola Bundibugyo outbreak following the confirmation of a case in Nigeria, warning that the disease has become a major regional public health threat.
The appeal came on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, as Kenya confirmed its ninth Ebola case, including one death, while the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continued battling infections across several provinces.
The Director-General of Africa CDC, Dr Jean Kaseya, raised the alarm after a discussion with Nigeria’s Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, who briefed him on the laboratory-confirmed case in Abuja.
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Kaseya stressed the need for urgent international support to strengthen surveillance, contact tracing and other containment measures as affected countries grappled with the risk of further transmission.
He commended the Nigerian government for promptly communicating the development, describing transparency and early reporting as critical to saving lives and preventing the outbreak from escalating.
The confirmation in Nigeria has heightened concerns about the movement of the disease across international borders, particularly as health authorities in affected countries work to identify exposed individuals and interrupt transmission.
Nigeria’s confirmed case involves a woman who recently arrived in the country from Uganda and subsequently received treatment at a private hospital in the Federal Capital Territory.
According to the timeline provided by health authorities, the woman developed symptoms on October 7 and sought medical treatment on October 11, but the infection was not confirmed until October 20.
The delay between the onset of symptoms and laboratory confirmation has prompted an extensive contact-tracing exercise to establish whether other individuals were exposed during the intervening period.
Nigeria’s health authorities have identified 44 contacts, including individuals who may have encountered the patient during her journey or while she was receiving medical care.
The woman has been placed in isolation and is receiving treatment, while public health teams continue monitoring identified contacts and searching for others who may have been exposed.
The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) and relevant authorities in the FCT have intensified surveillance and strengthened infection prevention and control measures.
Healthcare facilities across the country have also been urged to maintain heightened vigilance, promptly isolate suspected cases and report them to public health authorities.
Meanwhile, Kenya’s outbreak has expanded to nine confirmed cases, including one death, according to reports from the country’s health authorities as of October 20.
The outbreak in Kenya was traced to a man who travelled from the Democratic Republic of the Congo through Uganda to Nairobi before dying on October 5.
Subsequent infections have been linked to the initial case, with Kenyan health authorities reporting that the latest patient was already in quarantine before testing positive.
The authorities have also reported no evidence of transmission beyond the identified cluster, suggesting that ongoing surveillance and contact tracing have helped contain the known chain of infection.
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However, the emergence of cases in different countries has reinforced concerns about the potential for further cross-border transmission and the need for coordinated regional action.
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, health authorities continue responding to the outbreak across several provinces, placing additional pressure on disease surveillance, laboratory services and healthcare facilities.
The developments have renewed attention on the importance of international collaboration, particularly in strengthening early detection, laboratory confirmation, contact tracing and infection prevention systems.
Nigeria had already stepped up preparedness before confirming its first case.
On October 6, the NCDC issued an advisory following the confirmation of an imported Bundibugyo Ebola infection in Kenya, warning of the potential risk of the disease entering Nigeria.
The agency subsequently intensified surveillance and preparedness activities, including laboratory diagnosis, isolation and referral arrangements, contact tracing, infection prevention and public health communication.
The latest developments have made those preventive measures increasingly important as authorities seek to contain the confirmed infection and prevent secondary cases.
Ebola virus disease is a severe illness transmitted through direct contact with the blood or other body fluids of an infected person, or materials contaminated with such fluids.
According to the World Health Organisation, infected individuals do not transmit the disease before developing symptoms, while the incubation period ranges from two to 21 days.
The symptoms may include fever, severe weakness, headache, vomiting and diarrhoea.
Nigeria successfully contained an Ebola outbreak in 2014 through coordinated surveillance, rapid isolation, contact tracing and other public health interventions.
Africa CDC’s latest appeal underscores the importance of strengthening regional cooperation and mobilising international resources to prevent the current outbreak from developing into a wider public health emergency.
