The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) says all 62 contacts identified following the confirmation of an imported Ebola case in Nigeria are expected to complete monitoring by November 13, 2026.

The agency disclosed this in its latest Ebola Disease Situation Report, noting that the contacts were scheduled to complete their 21-day follow-up at different times between October 31 and November 13.

It said contact tracing and monitoring were ongoing, with additional contact tracers mapped and trained to strengthen surveillance and prevent further transmission.

The NCDC also disclosed plans to assess additional contacts for possible evacuation to a quarantine facility, while continuing to monitor those already in quarantine.

According to the report, the agency has reviewed and expanded its contact identification strategy as well as the case definitions for Ebola disease to improve the detection and management of suspected infections.

It also plans to review guidelines on contact tracing, self-quarantine, self-care kits and Ebola call protocols, alongside developing a disease surveillance dashboard on the Surveillance Outbreak Response Management and Analysis System (SORMAS).

On laboratory investigations, the NCDC disclosed that 18 samples had been tested since the outbreak was confirmed, with one positive result and 17 negative results.

The positive result was from the index case, while the negative samples comprised 15 collected from contacts of the confirmed patient and two from suspected cases.

The agency said laboratory confirmation was reported on October 20, 2026, while phylogenetic sequencing was completed by the NCDC National Reference Laboratory and the African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases (ACEGID).

It added that standard operating procedures for sample reception, molecular detection and genomic sequencing had been validated.

The NCDC said it would sustain uninterrupted Ebola testing at the National Reference Laboratory, with plans to expand testing capacity to Lagos and distribute additional laboratory reagents and supplies across the national laboratory network.

On case management, the agency said it had concluded a needs assessment and optimisation of the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital for its proposed role as an isolation and treatment centre.

It also disclosed that a dedicated ambulance had been secured and placed on standby for safe patient referrals, while the inspection and assessment of the isolation centre had been completed.

The FCT team had also been engaged on clinical care and psychosocial support for contacts in quarantine facilities.

On coordination, the NCDC said the National Incident Management System had been activated under the leadership of the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate.

It added that a high-level stakeholder meeting had been held with partner agencies to strengthen coordination, resource mobilisation and accountability in the response.

The agency listed sustained coordination across One Health sectors, implementation of the Incident Action Plan and strengthened preparedness in high-risk states among its next steps.

It also plans to review and circulate approved guidelines on triage, isolation, supportive care, psychosocial support and patient discharge.