Health Alert: No Ebola confirmed case in Nigeria as NCDC initiates  surveillance –Idris

*Dr. Jide Idris, Director-General, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, declares ‘Nigeria currently has no confirmed case of Ebola Virus Disease’, urging Nigerians to avoid misinformation about the disease, and maintain preventive measures, including .avoiding contact with bodily fluids of sick persons and regular hand hygiene

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

Sequel to recent reports of outbreak of the dreaded Ebola disease of some parts of the continent, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has cleared the West African country of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD).

The NCDC said there were no confirmed cases of the disease in Nigeria.

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Dr. Jide Idris, Director-General of NCDC, who noted this in a public health advisory Sunday, Nay 17, 2026, said: a “Nigeria currently has no confirmed case of Ebola Virus Disease”.

The advisory followed the outbreak of the disease in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and a recently confirmed case in Uganda.

However, the health sector regulatory agency assured the NCDC and other stakeholders are “closely monitoring the situation and working with relevant stakeholders, including the Port Health Service (Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare), to ensure continued vigilance and preparedness within the public health system.”

The public advisory also urged Nigerians to be calm, avoid spreading misinformation about the disease, and maintain preventive measures like avoiding contact with bodily fluids of sick persons and regular hand hygiene, among others.

Idris further stated: “Healthcare workers are advised to maintain a high index of suspicion for EVD in patients presenting with compatible symptoms and relevant travel or exposure history.”

WHO declares emergency on Ebola

In view of the limited cases of Ebola disease on the African continent, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared an international health emergency Sunday over an outbreak of an Ebola strain in the Democratic Republic of Congo that has killed more than 80 and for which there is no vaccine.

ConsumerConnect learnt fears of further spread grew when a laboratory Sunday, May 17, confirmed a case in the major eastern DRC city of Goma, which is controlled by the Rwanda-backed M23 militia.

A total of 88 deaths and 336 suspected cases of the highly contagious haemorrhagic fever have so far been reported, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC Africa) said in an update on Saturday, agency report said.

Prof. Jean-Jacques Muyembe, Director of the Congolese National Institute for Biomedical Research (INRB), told AFP: “A positive case in Goma has been confirmed by tests carried out by the laboratory.

“It involves the wife of a man who died of Ebola in Bunia, who travelled to Goma after her husband’s death whilst already infected.”

Meanwhile, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO, has expressed deep disquiet as the reported cases rose.

Ghebreyesus, in a post via his X account, averred: “I determine that the epidemic constitutes a public health emergency of international concern,”

According to him, the situation yet “does not meet the criteria of pandemic emergency” as defined by existing international health regulations (IHR).

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