FG Places FCT, Nine States on Ebola Watch Amid Fresh African Outbreak

The Federal Government has placed the Federal Capital Territory and nine states on heightened Ebola surveillance following a fresh outbreak of the deadly Bundibugyo strain of the virus in parts of East and Central Africa.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), in a public health advisory issued to state commissioners for health, warned that Nigeria faces a significant risk of importing the virus due to increased regional transmission, international travel and porous border routes.

States identified as high-risk areas include Lagos, Rivers, Kano, Enugu, Borno, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Taraba and Adamawa, alongside the FCT. The agency said the locations were selected because of their international airports, seaports, border corridors and heavy movement of people.

The NCDC noted that the current outbreak involving the Bundibugyo strain has raised serious concern because there is presently 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 Nigeria has yet to record a confirmed Ebola case linked to the latest outbreak, the agency disclosed that recent risk assessments showed the possibility of importation remains high.

According to the advisory, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo have already recorded more than 1,000 suspected infections and hundreds of deaths linked to the outbreak, with the fatality rate estimated at 24.6 per cent.

The development has also triggered global concern, with reports of suspected cases surfacing in India, while Canada has reportedly introduced temporary travel restrictions affecting some travellers from Uganda, the DRC and South Sudan.

Ugandan authorities have also tightened border controls as part of efforts to contain the spread of the disease.

The NCDC warned healthcare workers not to rely solely on visible bleeding before suspecting Ebola, explaining that early symptoms may resemble malaria, Lassa fever and 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 advisory stated.

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

State governments were directed to strengthen surveillance at airports and border points, identify isolation centres, equip frontline workers with protective equipment and intensify public awareness campaigns aimed at preventing panic and misinformation.

Meanwhile, the Lagos State Government assured residents that no confirmed or suspected Ebola case had been detected in the state.

Commissioner for Health, Akin Abayomi, said Lagos remained vigilant because of its position as Nigeria’s major entry point for international travel.

“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,” he said.

Abayomi explained that the state’s disease surveillance system, which was first tested during Nigeria’s 2014 Ebola outbreak and later strengthened during the COVID-19 pandemic, remains active and fully operational.

The latest alert has revived memories of the 2014 Ebola outbreak in Nigeria after an infected Liberian-American traveller, Patrick Sawyer, arrived in Lagos and exposed several individuals before health authorities swiftly contained the spread.

Nigeria’s response at the time, driven by aggressive contact tracing, isolation measures and public sensitisation, was later praised by the World Health Organization as one of Africa’s most successful Ebola containment efforts.

Health authorities are now urging Nigerians to remain calm, observe proper hygiene practices and promptly report suspected symptoms as surveillance efforts intensify nationwide.