Nigeria isolates two suspected Ebola cases as tests continue
The NCDC says neither case is confirmed and asks people to avoid speculation. In Congo, reported deaths have passed 5,000.
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Abuja — Nigeria's Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) said on Saturday that two suspected Ebola cases in the North-east have been isolated and are being tested. It has not named the states.
The agency stressed that a suspected case is not a confirmed one: that depends on the laboratory results. Contact tracing is under way, and it said it would give further updates as verified information becomes available.
NCDC director-general Jide Idris urged people to avoid speculation and unverified information.
What the NCDC advises
- Wash hands often and use alcohol-based sanitiser.
- Keep up good sanitation and follow public health guidance.
- Go at once to a designated facility if unusual symptoms appear.
Nigeria's only confirmed case this year, as of the World Health Organization's 28 October figures, was a woman who travelled from Uganda to Abuja and tested positive on 20 October. She was evacuated to Switzerland for treatment.
The picture in Congo
Congo's health ministry now reports 5,026 deaths among 10,351 infections in the outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain declared in mid-May, and 2,788 recoveries. That makes it the second-deadliest Ebola outbreak on record.
It has reached 67 of the country's 178 health zones. WHO's Dr Patrick Otim called the toll "a very tragic milestone" and said a third of the deaths happened outside treatment centres, before people were tested. There is no known vaccine or treatment for this strain, so health workers treat the symptoms.
Sources: Premium Times and Africanews, 31 October 2026.
