Date: October 7, 2026
Reporter: Emilly Jordan
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has heightened surveillance and preparedness measures following Kenya’s confirmation of its first imported case of Ebola disease linked to the ongoing outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The NCDC said the case, confirmed by Kenyan authorities on October 6, was caused by the Bundibugyo virus, a species of Ebola responsible for the current outbreak in the DRC. The agency stressed that Nigeria had no confirmed case of Ebola as of October 6.
“On 6th October 2026, the Government of Kenya confirmed an imported case of Ebola disease caused by Bundibugyo virus, linked to the ongoing outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC),” the NCDC said in a statement.
The agency added: “As of 6th October 2026, there is NO confirmed case of Ebola disease in Nigeria.”
The NCDC said it was reviewing the risk posed to Nigeria by the development while strengthening preparedness in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Port Health Services, state health authorities and other partners.
The heightened response follows confirmation by Kenya’s Ministry of Health that a Kenyan citizen who had been living in the DRC became the country’s first imported Ebola case. The patient had reportedly fallen ill about a month earlier and received treatment at several hospitals in the DRC before travelling by road to Kampala, Uganda. From there, he boarded Jambojet flight 8523 and arrived in Nairobi on October 3.
After arriving at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, the patient was taken to a Nairobi hospital, where he was isolated and assessed. Health officials reported symptoms including fever, chills, fatigue, weakness, muscle pain, painful swallowing, a sore throat and bleeding beneath the skin at injection sites. Samples subsequently tested positive for the Bundibugyo virus at Kenya’s National Virology Reference Laboratory and the Kenya Medical Research Institute. He died on the night of October 5 and was buried the following day under Kenya’s safe and dignified burial procedures.
The case has raised concerns about the possibility of Ebola spreading across borders through travel and population movement. Reuters reported that the patient travelled through multiple screening points before reaching Nairobi, including Uganda, despite the country having closed its border with the DRC. Kenyan officials have since intensified efforts to identify and monitor people who may have been exposed.
Kenyan Health Minister Aden Duale said on Wednesday that 57 contacts of the deceased had been identified, with 10 quarantined while authorities continued efforts to locate the others. Kenya has also established a dedicated screening gate at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport for passengers arriving from the DRC and other countries considered potentially linked to the outbreak.
The NCDC said Nigeria’s preparedness efforts are focused on early detection, isolation and referral of suspected cases, laboratory diagnosis, infection prevention and control, contact tracing, risk communication and protecting healthcare workers.
The agency has also conducted a national Ebola preparedness tabletop simulation exercise designed to assess Nigeria’s ability to respond to a possible imported case. It said it would continue monitoring developments in Kenya, the DRC and other affected countries and adjust its preparedness measures as necessary.
Nigeria’s heightened surveillance comes as the Ebola outbreak in the DRC continues to expand. The outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo species of Ebola virus and has affected multiple provinces. The World Health Organization has warned that population movement and informal border crossings can increase the possibility of the virus being exported to neighbouring countries, making cross-border surveillance and coordination particularly important.
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has described the situation in the DRC as increasingly difficult to contain, with North Kivu emerging as a major centre of transmission. The Associated Press reported that more than 8,500 cases and over 4,000 deaths had been recorded in the current outbreak, although the scale of the outbreak continues to change as surveillance and testing expand.
The spread of the outbreak has also placed greater pressure on health facilities and disease surveillance systems in affected areas. Health authorities and humanitarian organizations have reported difficulties with contact tracing, access to treatment, shortages of health workers and supplies, and mistrust or misinformation in some communities.
The NCDC has advised Nigerians travelling from affected areas to monitor their health for 21 days after leaving an affected area. Anyone who develops symptoms should avoid unnecessary contact with others, promptly contact public health authorities or seek medical attention at a recognized health facility and clearly disclose any relevant travel or exposure history.
The agency has also urged Nigerians to maintain good hand hygiene and avoid contact with the body fluids of people who are sick or deceased. Healthcare workers have been advised to maintain a high level of suspicion when treating patients with symptoms compatible with Ebola, particularly where there is a recent history of travel to or exposure in an affected area.
For now, Nigerian authorities emphasize that there is no confirmed Ebola case in Nigeria. The heightened surveillance is a precautionary measure intended to detect and contain any potential imported case as quickly as possible while the outbreak in Central Africa continues.
Kenya’s imported case has nevertheless highlighted the difficulty of preventing infectious diseases from crossing international borders, particularly when people move through informal routes or when early symptoms are difficult to detect. Public health authorities across the region are therefore increasing surveillance and preparedness as they seek to prevent further international spread of the Bundibugyo virus.