Ebola emergency watch begins in Lagos, FCT, eight states

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has placed Lagos, the Federal Capital Territory and several other states on high Ebola alert following the outbreak of the deadly Bundibugyo strain of Ebola Virus Disease in parts of East and Central Africa.

In a national public health advisory issued to commissioners for health across the country, the agency warned that Nigeria faces a high risk of importing the virus due to increasing regional transmission, international travel, porous borders, and population movement.

The advisory, dated May 27, 2026, comes amid growing concerns over the spread of the Bundibugyo variant of Ebola — a rare strain for which there is currently no approved vaccine or specific treatment.

States classified by the NCDC as high-risk include Lagos, the FCT, Rivers, Kano, Enugu, Borno, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Taraba, and Adamawa, because of their international airports, seaports, border routes, and high human traffic.

The immediate objective of our national preparedness and readiness efforts is to ensure that every state and the FCT can reasonably detect, contain, and respond swiftly to any suspected case while protecting health workers and sustaining essential health services,” the NCDC stated.