The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has confirmed that the patient diagnosed with the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola virus in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) is a diplomat whose condition has deteriorated into multi-organ failure.
Speaking at an emergency meeting in Abuja on Wednesday, the Director of Public Health Laboratory Services at the NCDC, Olajumoke Babatunde, said the case had been confirmed as the Bundibugyo strain following three rounds of molecular testing. The World Health Organization (WHO) has corroborated the result. There is currently no approved vaccine or specific treatment for this strain.
According to the NCDC, the patient is a woman who arrived in Abuja from Uganda on an international flight on 3 October 2026.
She developed symptoms four days later, on 7 October, and sought treatment at a private hospital in the FCT on 11 October, where she was initially treated for malaria before Ebola was suspected. The infection was formally confirmed on 20 October.
At Wednesday’s emergency meeting, an official who did not disclose the patient’s nationality confirmed her diplomatic status, stating that she was indeed a diplomat and that her condition had progressed to multi-organ failure. The NCDC has not released details of her nationality.
Dr Odiasonosen Ehiakhamen, the national Ebola incident manager, said 44 close contacts had so far been identified, including healthcare workers, fellow patients, carers and those who came into contact with the patient during travel. All are under medical observation.
The patient is being treated in isolation, and infection prevention and control measures have been reinforced at the private hospital where she was admitted.
The NCDC has activated its incident management system to coordinate the response, focusing on surveillance, contact tracing, infection prevention and control, and risk communication. The WHO and partners are supporting Nigerian health authorities with case investigation, contact tracing and the supply of essential materials, including personal protective equipment for health workers.
The Bundibugyo strain is the same strain driving the current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Since the DRC declared an outbreak in May 2026, the strain has spread to several African countries. Dr Jean Kaseya, Director-General of the Africa CDC, has warned that the outbreak has become the most geographically widespread Ebola outbreak on record, affecting countries across three regions of Africa. According to health authorities, the DRC has reported more than 9,000 confirmed cases and 4,381 deaths.
Nigeria last recorded an Ebola outbreak in 2014, when a rapid response contained an imported case in Lagos within 21 days, resulting in 19 infections and seven deaths. This is the first time the Bundibugyo strain has been detected in Nigeria.
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