The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has identified two suspected cases of Ebola disease in Nigeria’s North-East, raising fresh concerns as the country continues to strengthen its response to the outbreak of the deadly virus.
The agency disclosed this on Saturday in an update shared on its official social media platforms, stating that both individuals had been isolated while contact identification, listing and laboratory investigations were ongoing.
The NCDC, however, cautioned that the two individuals had not been confirmed to have Ebola, stressing that their infection status would be determined by laboratory results.
The development comes less than two weeks after Nigeria confirmed its first case of Ebola disease in the current outbreak, involving the Bundibugyo strain of the virus.
On October 20, the World Health Organisation (WHO) confirmed that a 42-year-old woman who travelled from Uganda through Addis Ababa to Abuja had tested positive for the virus.
The patient reportedly developed symptoms on October 7, four days after arriving in Nigeria, and sought medical attention at a private health facility in Abuja before her infection was confirmed.
Following her diagnosis, the Federal Government activated its national incident management system, while health authorities commenced contact tracing and strengthened infection prevention and control measures.
The NCDC subsequently identified 53 contacts linked to the confirmed patient, including healthcare workers, domestic staff and her spouse.
The confirmed patient was medically evacuated to Switzerland on October 26 for further treatment, while her husband, identified as a close contact, was also placed in isolation at a hospital in Zurich.
As of October 29, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control reported that Nigeria had identified 62 contacts linked to the confirmed infection.
Nigeria’s outbreak is connected to the wider regional health emergency involving the Bundibugyo virus, following an outbreak declared in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in May 2026.
The WHO said Nigeria became the fifth country to detect the virus since the outbreak was declared, while Kenya has also reported infections linked to the regional outbreak.
Meanwhile, the NCDC has urged Nigerians to maintain proper hand hygiene, practise enhanced sanitation and comply with public health guidance as investigations into the newly identified suspected cases continue.
The agency assured the public that further updates would be provided as verified information becomes available.