Nigeria has intensified nationwide surveillance and emergency preparedness efforts against Ebola Virus Disease following renewed outbreaks in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, with health officials warning that the risk of the virus crossing into the country remains “high”.
In a public health advisory issued on Saturday, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention said no confirmed Ebola case linked to the current regional outbreaks had been detected in Nigeria. However, the agency cautioned that international travel, cross-border movement and the scale of infections in East and Central Africa continued to pose a serious threat.
The NCDC’s director-general, Jide Idris, said the agency’s latest assessment identified border communities, major transport hubs and international entry points as areas requiring heightened surveillance.
“This assessment estimated the risk of Ebola importation into Nigeria as high due to the ongoing transmission in the DRC and Uganda, international travel and population movement, uncertainty regarding the full magnitude of the outbreak, and the potential for delayed recognition because symptoms may overlap with endemic diseases such as malaria and Lassa fever,” the advisory said.
The agency disclosed that the National Emergency Operations Centre had been placed on alert mode, while the National Incident Management System had been activated to coordinate response activities nationwide through defined reporting and escalation procedures.
Epidemiologists and Rapid Response Teams have also been placed on standby for immediate deployment to any state where suspected cases emerge, the agency added.
The NCDC said it was strengthening coordination with state ministries of health, Port Health Services and other government agencies to improve preparedness, while surveillance and epidemic intelligence operations had been expanded across the country.
Officials said enhanced monitoring of unusual health events, rumours and alerts was underway to ensure early detection of suspected Ebola infections, particularly in border communities and at international points of entry.
The agency added that preparedness tools and infection prevention checklists had been distributed to healthcare facilities nationwide, alongside refresher training programmes for health workers focused on triage systems, infection control protocols and early identification of viral haemorrhagic fever cases.
State governments have also been advised to designate isolation and treatment centres, assess bed capacity, strengthen logistics systems and ensure adequate emergency medical supplies.
Plans are underway to preposition critical response materials — including personal protective equipment, laboratory consumables and body bags — in strategic locations across the country.
On laboratory readiness, the NCDC said Nigeria retained Ebola testing capacity in states with international entry points and across the national public health laboratory network, with additional surge capacity available if required.
The agency also warned against the spread of misinformation, saying public awareness campaigns had been intensified while “Ebola Myths and Facts” materials were being circulated to counter false claims online.
Ebola is a severe and often fatal viral disease transmitted through direct contact with infected blood, bodily fluids or contaminated materials. Symptoms commonly include fever, weakness, headaches and muscle pain. Health experts emphasise that the virus is not airborne.
The renewed alert has revived memories of Nigeria’s widely praised response to the 2014 Ebola outbreak, which began after Patrick Sawyer arrived in Lagos from Liberia carrying the virus.
The outbreak resulted in 20 confirmed cases and eight deaths before Nigerian authorities halted transmission through aggressive contact tracing, isolation measures and public awareness campaigns — an operation later commended by the World Health Organization as one of Africa’s most effective epidemic containment efforts.
The latest concerns come amid recurring Ebola outbreaks in parts of Central and East Africa, particularly in Uganda and the DRC, where fragile health systems and extensive cross-border movement continue to complicate containment efforts.
Public health experts have repeatedly warned that increased global mobility and porous borders leave African countries vulnerable to infectious disease outbreaks despite improvements in disease surveillance following the COVID-19 pandemic and previous outbreaks of Ebola, mpox and Lassa fever.
