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The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, NCDC, has placed the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, alongside nine states under intensified Ebola surveillance following the emergence of the deadly Bundibugyo strain of the virus in parts of East and Central Africa.

In a public health advisory sent to state Commissioners for Health, the agency warned that Nigeria remains vulnerable to importing the virus because of increasing regional transmission, cross-border activities, international travel, and porous borders.

The advisory, dated May 27, 2026, listed Lagos, the FCT, Rivers, Kano, Enugu, Borno, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Taraba, and Adamawa as high-risk locations due to their international airports, seaports, border routes, and heavy movement of people.

According to the NCDC, the current outbreak involving the Bundibugyo strain has become a major source of concern because there is currently no approved vaccine or specific treatment for the variant.

“The immediate objective of our national preparedness and readiness efforts is to ensure that every state and the FCT can reasonably detect, contain, and respond swiftly to any suspected case while protecting health workers and sustaining essential health services,” the agency stated.

Although no confirmed Ebola case has been reported in Nigeria, the NCDC disclosed that a recent risk assessment conducted after the outbreak was declared a public health emergency of international concern showed that the danger of importing the virus into the country remains high.

The agency further revealed that Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo had already recorded more than 1,000 suspected infections and hundreds of deaths linked to the outbreak, with a fatality rate estimated at 24.6 percent.

The outbreak has also triggered global concern, following reports of suspected cases in India, while Canada reportedly introduced temporary restrictions on certain travel applications involving residents from Uganda, the DRC, and South Sudan.

Uganda has also implemented border control measures aimed at limiting the spread of the disease.

Health authorities explained that the Bundibugyo strain differs from the more common Zaire Ebola strain, which existing vaccines and antibody treatments mainly target.

“The current Bundibugyo virus outbreak has no licensed vaccines or approved targeted therapeutics,” the advisory warned.

The NCDC also cautioned healthcare workers against depending solely on visible bleeding as a symptom of Ebola, noting that early signs may resemble malaria, Lassa fever, or other common illnesses.

“Health workers must not wait for bleeding before suspecting Ebola in any patient with compatible symptoms and relevant travel or exposure history,” the agency advised.

As part of efforts to strengthen emergency response, the NCDC said the National Emergency Operations Centre had already been activated in alert mode to coordinate preparedness activities nationwide.

State governments were directed to activate emergency response structures, improve surveillance at entry points, identify isolation facilities, provide frontline health workers with personal protective equipment, and intensify public sensitisation campaigns to prevent panic and misinformation.

Meanwhile, the Lagos State Government has assured residents that no confirmed or suspected Ebola case has been identified within the state.

The Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, said there was no reason for panic, adding that Lagos remained on high alert because of its strategic role as Nigeria’s major gateway.

According to him, the state’s biosecurity and disease surveillance systems remain fully active and capable of responding swiftly to any biological threat.

“The Lagos Biosecurity Bio-shield was built to protect and remains ready to respond to biological shocks. Preparedness for us is not a temporary reaction; it is a permanent culture embedded within our health system,” Abayomi stated.

He explained that the state’s preparedness framework, first tested during the 2014 Ebola outbreak and later strengthened during the COVID-19 pandemic, remains operational in tackling recurring public health threats such as cholera, diphtheria, and Lassa fever.

Nigeria’s latest Ebola alert has revived memories of the country’s successful containment of the virus during the 2014 outbreak after an infected Liberian-American traveller, Patrick Sawyer, arrived in Lagos and exposed several individuals before authorities intervened.

At the time, health experts feared a major outbreak in Lagos because of its large population and commercial importance. However, rapid contact tracing, isolation measures, emergency coordination, and aggressive public awareness campaigns helped contain the virus within a few months.

The World Health Organisation later described Nigeria’s response as one of Africa’s most successful Ebola containment efforts.

Health authorities are now urging Nigerians to remain calm, avoid spreading misinformation, maintain proper hygiene practices, and promptly report any suspected symptoms as surveillance and emergency preparedness measures are intensified across the country.

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