Ebola Scare: Two Suspected Cases In North-East, NCDC Begins Contact Tracing

** 6 contacts exit quarantine facility today | States increase surveillance**

By Patience Ivie Ihejirika, Abuja, Francis Okoye, Maiduguri, Attah Anthony, Jalingo, Babaji Usman Babaji, Gombe

States in Nigeria’s North-East have intensified disease surveillance and emergency preparedness following the identification of two suspected Ebola cases in the region by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC).

The NCDC, in an update issued on Saturday, October 31, 2026, disclosed that the two individuals had been isolated, while contact identification and listing were ongoing. Laboratory tests were also being conducted to establish whether they had contracted the virus.

Ebola: 6 Contacts To Exit Quarantine Facility Sunday – NCDC

The agency, however, stressed that the classification of the individuals as suspected cases did not mean they had tested positive for Ebola, adding that confirmation would depend on laboratory results.

Although the NCDC did not identify the states where the suspected cases were detected, the development has prompted renewed attention to disease surveillance and emergency response across the region.

Borno Strengthens Surveillance, Emergency Preparedness

In Borno State, the government said it was strengthening disease surveillance and emergency preparedness to ensure prompt detection and containment of any suspected case.

The Managing Director of Borno State Specialist Hospital, Dr Baba Shehu, disclosed this while responding to enquiries about the state’s preparedness to tackle a possible Ebola outbreak.

Shehu said the measures were aimed at ensuring that health authorities were adequately prepared to detect, contain and respond promptly to any suspected case.

Similarly, the Incident Manager of the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) in Damboa area of Maiduguri, Mr Jacob Audu, said he had only just been informed about the reported identification of the suspected cases in the North-East.

Audu, however, assured that state health officials and humanitarian partners were on alert to respond to any eventuality involving Ebola in Borno.

He disclosed that a meeting had earlier been held involving development partners, state health officials and the Commissioner of Health and Human Services to discuss preparedness, emergency response, support mechanisms and early detection of any possible outbreak.

Efforts to obtain further clarification from the Borno State Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Prof Baba Mallam Gana, were unsuccessful, as calls and a text message sent to him were unanswered.

Taraba Rules Out Suspected Cases, Activates Response System

In Taraba State, the government said there were no suspected Ebola cases in the state, while assuring residents that surveillance and emergency response mechanisms had been strengthened.

The Commissioner for Health, Dr Bordiya Gbansheya Buma, disclosed this while reacting to the NCDC alert, stressing that the state had activated its response system and placed surveillance teams on high alert.

He said the Ministry of Health had directed all public and private healthcare facilities to immediately report any suspected cases to the ministry.

According to him, surveillance efforts also cover rural communities and internally displaced persons’ (IDP) camps to ensure that no area is excluded from the monitoring exercise.

Buma clarified that the two suspected cases reported by the NCDC were not in Taraba, adding that the state government was strengthening its preparedness in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health, the NCDC and other relevant authorities.

He urged residents to remain vigilant and promptly report any suspected cases, assuring them that the government was taking precautionary measures to protect public health.

Gombe Sets Up Monitoring, Assures Residents

In Gombe State, the Commissioner for Health, Prof Adamu Danladi Bojude, also assured residents that no Ebola case had been reported in the state.

Bojude said the government had intensified disease surveillance and emergency preparedness while maintaining contact with national health authorities to obtain verified information about the suspected cases and monitor possible exposure to the virus.

“We have not confirmed which state in the region yet. I contacted the Emergency Operations Centre here in Gombe. As far as Gombe State is concerned, we have not received such a report,” he told LEADERSHIP Sunday.

The commissioner said Gombe had an isolation centre and was strengthening its capacity to respond to any suspected case that might be identified.

“We have an isolation centre. The governor has also released funds for us,” he added.

He explained that the state’s response mechanism included monitoring individuals who might have been exposed to the virus, with health workers conducting follow-up visits where home-based monitoring was considered appropriate.

According to him, individuals requiring facility-based isolation would be transferred to an isolation centre, while their contacts would also be identified and monitored.

Bojude said the state was monitoring developments daily and maintaining communication with the NCDC for updates on the situation across the region.

Meanwhile, checks by LEADERSHIP Sunday at major hospitals in Gombe indicated that no suspected Ebola case had been reported in the facilities.

The latest alert comes barely two weeks after Nigeria confirmed its first imported Ebola case in more than a decade.

The index patient was a woman who travelled from Uganda to Abuja and tested positive for the Bundibugyo strain of the virus. She and her husband were subsequently evacuated to Switzerland on October 26.

Following the confirmation, health authorities initiated contact tracing and surveillance of people who might have been exposed to the virus.

Meanwhile, six contacts of the confirmed Ebola case are expected to be discharged from the quarantine facility today after completing the mandatory 21-day monitoring period without showing symptoms of the disease.

The Incident manager for Ebola at the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), Dr Odianosen Ehiakhamen, disclosed this during an interview on NTA News.

He said the six individuals, comprising two domestic staff and the driver of the index case, had completed the 21-day observation period without developing symptoms associated with Ebola.

According to Ehiakhamen, the individuals were placed under observation at the quarantine facility following their exposure to the confirmed case.