The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has released a list of States considered as high risk of Ebola importation due to the ongoing outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda.
Kristina Reports gathered on Friday, May 29, 2026 that the agency classified Lagos, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Rivers, Kano, Enugu, Borno, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Taraba, and Adamawa as high-risk states as disclosed by the Director-General of the NCDC, Jide Idris, in a public health advisory issued on Thursday, May 28, 2026 in Abuja.
The NCDC boss noted that there are currently no approved vaccines or specific treatments for the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus disease, stressing that control efforts largely depend on rapid public health interventions.
“The current Bundibugyo virus outbreak has no licensed vaccines or approved targeted therapeutics. Existing Ebola vaccines and monoclonal antibody treatments are primarily directed against the Zaire ebolavirus and should therefore not be relied upon as available countermeasures for this outbreak strain.”
Idris emphasised that Nigeria had not recorded any confirmed case of the outbreak at the time of the advisory.
According to him, the most affected age group is between 14 and 45 years, while both regional and national risks remain high.
Idris further stated that suspected cases had also been reported in India, while Canada recently announced a temporary suspension of travel applications from residents of the DRC, Uganda, and South Sudan due to the outbreak adding that Uganda had also announced border closure measures.
It stressed that while all states and the FCT must maintain Ebola preparedness, the pace and level of readiness should reflect each state’s risk of importation and transmission.
He noted that a total of 1,077 suspected cases and 247 deaths had been reported in the DRC and Uganda, with a case fatality rate as high as 24.6 per cent.
The agency attributed the risk to increased international travel, regional population movements, porous borders, and uncertainty about the full magnitude of the outbreak.
The NCDC also classified Ogun, Nasarawa, Kaduna, Plateau, Kogi, Niger, Jigawa, Katsina, Bauchi, Ebonyi, Abia, and Bayelsa as states facing moderate risk.
According to the NCDC, the high-risk states are major trade and travel routes with international airports, seaports, porous borders, and ground crossings.
The agency attributed the risk to increased international travel, regional population movements, porous borders, and uncertainty about the full magnitude of the outbreak.
The NCDC also classified Ogun, Nasarawa, Kaduna, Plateau, Kogi, Niger, Jigawa, Katsina, Bauchi, Ebonyi, Abia, and Bayelsa as states facing moderate risk.
According to the NCDC, the high-risk states are major trade and travel routes with international airports, seaports, porous borders, and ground crossings.
It stressed that while all states and the FCT must maintain Ebola preparedness, the pace and level of readiness should reflect each state’s risk of importation and transmissions.
Idris emphasised that Nigeria had not recorded any confirmed case of the outbreak at the time of the advisory.
However, he said the Dynamic Risk Assessment conducted by the NCDC and its partners indicated that the overall risk of Ebola importation into Nigeria remains high due to ongoing regional transmission, international travel, regional population movement, major airports, seaports, porous land borders, informal crossings, trade routes, and the similarity between early Ebola symptoms and common febrile illnesses such as malaria and Lassa fever.
He explained that the objective of the national preparedness and response efforts is to ensure that every state and the FCT can quickly detect, contain, and respond to any suspected case while protecting health workers and sustaining essential health services.
According to him, key outbreak response measures include early detection, prompt isolation of suspected and confirmed cases, strict infection prevention and control measures, contact tracing, safe burial practices, community engagement, and strong surveillance systems.