The Federal Government has confirmed an Ebola virus disease case in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) involving a woman who recently travelled to Uganda, with 44 contacts identified as authorities intensify efforts to prevent further transmission.

The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, disclosed this at a media briefing in Abuja on Tuesday, following laboratory confirmation of the infection.

According to Pate, the woman returned to Nigeria from Uganda and developed symptoms on October 7. Her condition worsened four days later, prompting her to seek medical attention and undergo tests that confirmed the infection.

She was admitted to a private hospital in the FCT, where she received treatment for several days before the diagnosis was confirmed. She is currently in isolation and receiving medical care.

The minister said contact tracing had commenced, with 44 people identified for monitoring. They include healthcare workers, patients, caregivers and travel contacts who may have been exposed to the virus.

He added that surveillance had been intensified at the country’s entry points, while immediate support was being provided to the hospital to strengthen infection prevention and control measures.

The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), the FCT Health Services Secretariat, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and other relevant partners are collaborating to contain the infection.

Pate urged public and private healthcare facilities nationwide to remain vigilant, stressing the need for healthcare workers to maintain a high index of suspicion, promptly identify and isolate suspected cases, observe strict infection prevention and control measures, and immediately report suspected infections to public health authorities.

He also called on Nigerians to remain calm and vigilant, recalling that the country successfully contained an Ebola outbreak in 2014 and had since strengthened its public health response systems.

According to him, the government is drawing on that experience and existing mechanisms to manage the current case and prevent further transmission.

The minister advised Nigerians to practise good hygiene, watch for symptoms such as fever, weakness, headache and diarrhoea, and cooperate with public health officials.

He emphasised that early detection, prompt reporting and public cooperation were critical to containing the disease.

“The federal government, FCT authorities and other partners are working together to protect healthcare workers, patients and the wider public. Investigations are ongoing, and we will continue to provide accurate and timely information,” he said.

The government said updates would be provided through the Presidential Task Force on Ebola Virus Disease and the NCDC.

The NCDC’s toll-free call centre is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, on 6232 for information or to report suspected cases.

The confirmation comes months after the Federal Government assured Nigerians in May that there was no confirmed Ebola case in the country, following reports of outbreaks in parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda.

In June, the NCDC also said Nigeria had not recorded any confirmed cases of the disease. The agency’s Director-General, Jide Idris, disclosed at the time that the country was 59 per cent prepared for a potential Ebola outbreak.

Earlier in October, Kenyan authorities confirmed the country’s first case of Ebola Bundibugyo virus disease (BVD), following an outbreak in the DRC in May. The disease has since spread to several countries, including neighbouring Uganda.

The NCDC subsequently intensified surveillance and reviewed Nigeria’s preparedness measures, warning that international travel and population movement could increase the risk of importing the virus.

In a statement issued on October 6, the agency said there was no confirmed Ebola case in Nigeria at the time.

Meanwhile, the Director-General of the Africa CDC, Jean Kaseya, described the Bundibugyo outbreak as the most geographically widespread Ebola outbreak in history, affecting multiple countries across three African regions.

The DRC has also experienced a major Ebola epidemic, with health authorities reporting 4,381 deaths out of more than 9,000 confirmed cases.

Nigeria recorded its first Ebola case in 2014 and successfully contained the outbreak.