Nigeria’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed that all sixty-two individuals linked to an imported Ebola case have finished their twenty-one-day observation period without developing symptoms. This development marks a key step in managing the Bundibugyo strain, which was identified in a woman who traveled from Uganda in October. According to Africanews, officials reported no additional infections since the initial diagnosis occurred last month.
The patient, a Swiss national, arrived in Abuja on October 3 after visiting Uganda. She began showing signs of illness on October 7 and entered a private medical facility on October 11. Health authorities were alerted on October 19, with laboratory results confirming the infection the next day. She was transferred to Switzerland for treatment on October 26 and left the hospital on November 11 after making a full recovery, Punch reported.
During the surveillance window, thirteen contacts experienced fever or other vague symptoms, yet all tested negative for the virus. Jide Idris, the NCDC Director-General, noted that the final contact was released on November 13. He stressed that finishing this phase does not mean the outbreak is over. Under World Health Organization rules, the country must remain free of confirmed cases for forty-two days before being declared Ebola-free.
The World Health Organization praised the Nigerian response. Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus stated on X that the successful monitoring with no secondary transmission was a positive milestone. He thanked government officials and health workers for containing the Bundibugyo virus and promised continued support as the nation enters the second half of the required forty-two-day vigilance period.
The Bundibugyo variant, first found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in May, has caused over eleven thousand infections globally, killing nearly half of those affected. No specific cure or vaccine exists for this strain, although a trial of two candidate vaccines is ongoing. Cases have also appeared in Uganda and Kenya. Idris warned that Nigeria’s emergency operations center remains at Level 3 due to active transmission in the DRC.