The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has placed Lagos, the Federal Capital Territory and several other states on high Ebola alert following the outbreak of the deadly Bundibugyo strain of Ebola Virus Disease in parts of East and Central Africa.
In a national public health advisory issued to commissioners for health across the country, the agency warned that Nigeria faces a high risk of importing the virus due to increasing regional transmission, international travel, porous borders, and population movement.
The advisory, dated May 27, 2026, comes amid growing concerns over the spread of the Bundibugyo variant of Ebola — a rare strain for which there is currently no approved vaccine or specific treatment.
States classified by the NCDC as high-risk include Lagos, the FCT, Rivers, Kano, Enugu, Borno, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Taraba, and Adamawa, because of their international airports, seaports, border routes, and high human traffic.
“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 NCDC stated.
The agency disclosed that although Nigeria has not recorded any confirmed case, a dynamic risk assessment conducted after the outbreak was declared a public health emergency of international concern showed that the danger of importation into Nigeria remains high.
According to the NCDC, 1,077 suspected cases and 247 deaths have already been reported in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, with a fatality rate of 24.6 per cent.
It added that the outbreak has also triggered international concern, with suspected cases reportedly identified in India, while Canada announced temporary restrictions on travel applications involving residents of Uganda, DRC, and South Sudan.
Uganda has also reportedly introduced border closure measures to contain the spread.
The NCDC stressed that the Bundibugyo strain differs from the Zaire Ebola strain, which existing vaccines and antibody treatments primarily target.
“The current Bundibugyo virus outbreak has no licensed vaccines or approved targeted therapeutics,” the advisory warned.
Health officials also cautioned that Ebola symptoms could initially resemble malaria, Lassa fever, or other common illnesses, making early detection more difficult.
“Health workers must not wait for bleeding before suspecting Ebola in any patient with compatible symptoms and relevant travel or exposure history,” the agency said.
As part of emergency preparedness measures, the agency said its National Emergency Operations Centre has already been activated in alert mode to coordinate nationwide response efforts.
State governments were directed to immediately activate Ebola preparedness structures, identify isolation centres, intensify surveillance at entry points, equip frontline health workers with personal protective equipment, and begin public sensitisation campaigns to counter panic and misinformation.
The Lagos State Government has, however, assured residents that there are no confirmed or suspected cases of Ebola Virus Disease in the state.
The Commissioner for Health, Prof Akin Abayomi, in a statement on Monday, said there was no cause for alarm, stressing that no suspected case of Ebola had been detected in Lagos.
Abayomi explained that as a major entry point into Nigeria, Lagos was closely monitoring developments surrounding the Ebola outbreaks in the DRC and Uganda, in line with directives from Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
On May 24, 2026, the Nigeria Immigration Service allayed the fears that the country’s land borders can serve as unchecked entry points for the Ebola virus currently ravaging DRC and Uganda.
Speaking further, Abayomi said Lagos’ robust and tested biosecurity architecture remains fully activated and prepared to detect, contain, and respond rapidly to Ebola and any biological threat.
According to him, Lagos has, over the years, built a resilient and outbreak-tested biosecurity system designed for continuous year-round preparedness and response against high-consequence infectious diseases, including Ebola, Lassa Fever, and Influenza.
“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.
“The state’s preparedness framework was first rigorously tested during the Ebola outbreak and significantly strengthened during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It remains actively engaged in responding to recurrent public health challenges, such as Cholera, Diphtheria, and Lassa Fever outbreaks,” the commissioner said.
Nigeria’s renewed Ebola alert has revived memories of the country’s successful containment of the virus during the 2014 outbreak, when an infected Liberian-American traveller, Patrick Sawyer, arrived in Lagos and exposed dozens of people before authorities intervened.
At the time, public health experts feared a catastrophic outbreak in Lagos due to its dense population and status as one of Africa’s busiest commercial hubs.
However, rapid contact tracing, aggressive isolation measures, emergency coordination, and public awareness campaigns helped Nigeria stop the spread within months.
The World Health Organisation later praised Nigeria’s response as one of the most effective Ebola containment efforts in Africa.
The latest alert is considered particularly serious because the Bundibugyo variant remains less understood than the more common Zaire strain.
Unlike the Zaire strain, which has approved vaccines and treatments developed after previous West African outbreaks, the Bundibugyo strain currently lacks licensed countermeasures.
Health authorities are now urging Nigerians to remain calm, avoid rumours and fake cures, maintain proper hygiene, and report suspected symptoms early as surveillance and preparedness measures intensify nationwide.
punch.ng
FOLLOW US ON:
