The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has confirmed that two suspected Ebola cases reported in Adamawa State tested negative after two rounds of laboratory testing, with no confirmed case recorded in the state.
The Director-General of the NCDC, Dr Jide Idris, disclosed this in a statement dated October 31, 2026, following investigations conducted in collaboration with the Adamawa State Government through its Ministry of Health and Human Services.
The clarification comes after the Adamawa State Public Health Emergency Operations Centre (PHEOC) received a report in the early hours of October 30, following the identification of two individuals presenting with symptoms suggestive of Ebola in Yola.
The individuals were subsequently isolated, while samples were collected for laboratory testing and appropriate public health measures were initiated.
Ebola test results and NCDC’s public health advisory
The NCDC said samples from the two individuals were collected and subjected to laboratory testing to determine the cause of their illness.
- “Fortunately, the samples turned out negative for EBV after two rounds of testing. Currently, there is no laboratory-confirmed Ebola case in Adamawa State.”
The agency urged Nigerians to remain calm and avoid circulating unverified reports or speculation, advising the public to rely on official government and public health communication channels for accurate information.
It also said it would continue working with the Adamawa State Government and other relevant stakeholders to monitor the situation and communicate further developments as verified information becomes available.
Nigeria’s first Ebola case and contact tracing
Nigeria confirmed its first Ebola case in more than a decade on October 20, 2026, after laboratory tests returned positive for a woman who had travelled from Uganda to Abuja earlier in the month.
Following the confirmation, health authorities commenced contact tracing, initially identifying 44 people who had close contact with the patient, including healthcare workers, caregivers and other individuals who may have been exposed. The number of identified contacts was subsequently expanded as investigations continued.
Following the evacuation, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, said Nigeria could declare the Ebola outbreak over as early as December 7, 2026, if no further confirmed or probable cases were detected.
He noted that the proposed date was subject to validation of the World Health Organisation’s 42-day monitoring requirement, with any additional confirmed or probable case potentially restarting the countdown.
Ebola outbreak spreads across DR Congo and Kenya
The development in Nigeria comes amid a wider Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where more than 5,000 people have died, according to government data.
- The outbreak, which began in May 2026, has spread across eight of the country’s 26 provinces, recording 10,351 confirmed cases and 5,026 deaths as of October 29. The case fatality rate stands at 48.6%, making it the deadliest Ebola outbreak in the country’s history.
- Kenya has also recorded nine confirmed cases, including two deaths, with the infections linked to an imported case from the DRC through Uganda.
- The outbreak has also raised concerns about the management of international response funding.
Earlier, on October 16, 2026, Nairametrics reported that the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) raised concerns over more than $700 million in Ebola response funds that remained unaccounted for in the DRC.
The agency said international donors had disbursed approximately $962 million to organisations implementing response programmes, but only about 30% of those organisations provided financial information during a verification exercise.
