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Nigerian health authorities expanded their search for potential Ebola cases on Sunday, tracing nine additional contacts linked to the country’s sole confirmed patient.
Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) Director General Jide Idris announced during a news conference that the contact count rose from 44 to 53 people.
The patient, a 42-year-old wife of a Swiss embassy staff member in Abuja, contracted the virus while travelling in Uganda before returning to Nigeria, where she is currently receiving treatment.
Idris confirmed that a suspected case in Rivers State tested negative.
The NCDC identified the initial 44 contacts as healthcare workers, while the nine newly traced individuals include additional medical staff, family members, and household employees.
In response to the threat, Nigerian officials introduced enhanced screening measures for international airport arrivals.
However, domestic flights currently operate without screening protocols, and land borders with Benin continue to rely on generic health forms without thermal temperature checks.
The imported case involves the Bundibugyo strain—which originated from an ongoing outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)—for which no specific vaccine or treatment exists.
The World Health Organisation warned of a “complex” Ebola outbreak spreading across west, east, and central Africa.
Neighbouring nations have heightened their defences; Uganda instituted a mandatory 21-day quarantine for citizens returning from the DRC, while Kenya has reported seven cases and two deaths linked to travellers arriving from the region.
