By Mercy Peter
The Federal Government has thrown its public health machinery into high gear following the official confirmation of an Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) case in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The outbreak response was announced on Thursday in a press statement (MFA/PR/2026/278) issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC).
The patient, a woman who recently arrived in Nigeria on an international flight from Uganda, was initially treated at a private hospital in Abuja for several days before tests confirmed the deadly virus on October 20. She has since been moved to an isolation unit where she is undergoing treatment.
44 Close Contacts Tracked in High-Stakes Containment
To halt potential community spread, contact-tracing teams from the NCDC and the FCT Health Services Secretariat have identified and placed 44 close contacts under strict public health monitoring.
The targeted monitoring spans several groups:
Healthcare Personnel: Doctors, nurses, and hospital staff who attended to the patient before her diagnosis.
Patients & Caregivers: Individuals exposed during her stay at the private medical facility.
Travel Contacts: Persons who interacted with or traveled alongside the patient.
Official Call for Calm
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson, Oluwafemi Adeniyi, assured the public that government agencies are actively coordinating surveillance, testing, and infection control to lock down transmission risks.
”The Federal Government manages this situation with utmost seriousness to safeguard all residents,” the statement noted. “Members of the public are urged to remain calm, avoid speculation and misinformation, and rely exclusively on verified information from official government channels.”
Authorities confirmed that additional health advisories and operational updates will be released as the containment effort in the nation’s capital progresses.
