The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) says the condition of Nigeria’s confirmed Ebola patient has deteriorated to multi-organ failure.
The agency’s Director of Public Health Laboratory Service, Olajumoke Babatunde, disclosed this during an emergency meeting in Abuja on Wednesday, confirming that laboratory tests identified the Bundibugyo strain of the virus.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) confirmed Nigeria’s first imported case of Ebola Bundibugyo virus disease on October 20, 2026. The strain has no approved vaccine or specific treatment, according to the WHO.
The patient, a woman described in reports as a diplomat, arrived in Nigeria following travel from Uganda. She developed symptoms on October 7 and sought treatment at a private hospital in Abuja on October 11, initially presenting with malaria-like symptoms.
Health authorities have identified 44 contacts, including healthcare workers and other people who may have been exposed to the virus. They are being monitored as surveillance and contact-tracing efforts intensify.
The patient remains in isolation and is receiving medical care, while investigations continue to establish the source of infection and identify other possible contacts.
Nigeria is the latest country affected by the ongoing Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak, which was declared in the Democratic Republic of Congo in May 2026.
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