Fresh details have emerged about the movement of Nigeria’s confirmed Ebola patient, with an aviation official revealing that the woman arrived in Abuja aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight on October 3, 2026, as authorities race to trace possible contacts and prevent further spread of the virus.

The revelation comes amid growing concern over the detection of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, a variant for which there is currently no approved vaccine or specific treatment, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The patient reportedly landed at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport aboard Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET333. The information could prove important to ongoing investigations as health officials work to establish the woman’s movements before her infection was confirmed.

Nigeria’s Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, had earlier confirmed that the female patient recently returned from Uganda and spent several days receiving care at a private hospital in Abuja before the infection was diagnosed.

She has since been moved to a designated isolation facility, where she is receiving treatment. However, another official disclosed that the patient is a diplomat and had developed multi-organ failure. Her nationality has not been made public.

44 Contacts Identified as Health Authorities Intensify Tracing

The Federal Ministry of Health, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) and the FCT Health and Environmental Services Secretariat have launched a coordinated response to contain the outbreak.

Authorities have so far identified 44 close contacts, including healthcare workers, other patients at the private hospital, caregivers and people linked to the woman’s journey.

Health facilities and port health surveillance units across the country have also been placed on high alert as the government steps up measures to detect potential infections and prevent further transmission.

Olajumoke Babatunde, Director of Public Health Laboratory Services at the NCDC, said laboratory investigations involved three levels of testing, all of them molecular, which identified the virus as the Bundibugyo strain.

The confirmation has heightened concerns because the WHO says there is no approved vaccine or specific treatment for this strain, making early detection, isolation, contact-tracing and infection-control measures particularly important.

Uganda Rejects Assumption That Patient Contracted Virus There

As Nigeria intensifies its response, Uganda has asked the Federal Government to provide detailed travel and clinical records of the patient, saying the information is needed to establish where she was exposed to the virus and determine whether further contact-tracing is necessary.

Uganda’s Director-General of Health Services, Professor Charles Olaro, said the woman reportedly travelled to the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo for business before passing through Uganda in early October.

According to preliminary information released by Uganda’s Ministry of Health, she showed no symptoms while transiting through the country but reportedly developed them after arriving in Nigeria.

The Ugandan government stressed that travelling through its territory does not prove that the woman contracted Ebola there. It also stated that Uganda had no confirmed active Ebola cases as of the date of its statement.

The clarification follows reports linking the Nigerian case to Uganda, which was declared Ebola-free by the WHO in August after an outbreak involving 20 cases, most of them linked to people who had travelled from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Uganda said it was awaiting Nigeria’s detailed account of the woman’s travel itinerary and clinical history to support further investigations. It also pledged to strengthen screening and other public health measures at its points of entry in collaboration with relevant agencies.

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FG Says Nigeria Is Working With Uganda to Contain Outbreak

Reacting to the concerns, Pate said Nigeria was collaborating with Uganda to manage the situation and prevent the infection from spreading within the country.

Speaking to journalists after a meeting at the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, the minister said the priority was to contain the confirmed case and identify anyone who might have been exposed.

He urged Nigerians to remain vigilant without panicking, warning against the spread of rumours and unverified information.

Pate also expressed confidence in Nigeria’s public health institutions, citing the country’s experience in managing the 2014 Ebola outbreak.

He said the government would continue to provide updates as more verified information became available, adding that the NCDC had activated its incident-management system to coordinate the response.

Senate, Reps Demand Emergency Funding, Compulsory Airport Screening

The Ebola case has also triggered calls for urgent government action, with the Senate and House of Representatives asking the Federal Government to release emergency funds to agencies responsible for containing the disease.

The National Assembly called on the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the NCDC and Port Health Services to make health screening compulsory for passengers arriving at international airports, seaports and designated land borders.

The Senate specifically recommended temperature checks and symptom assessments for arriving passengers, with enhanced screening for anyone who had visited or transited an affected area within the preceding 21 days, irrespective of nationality or departure country.

It also called for exit screening for departing passengers during any declared public health emergency.

To strengthen the response, the Senate urged the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning to release emergency funding through service-wide votes and ensure that relevant agencies receive the resources needed to contain the outbreak.

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, Nigeria Immigration Service and health authorities were also asked to ensure that entry points have trained port health officers, thermal scanners, protective equipment and isolation rooms.

The lawmakers further called for isolation and treatment centres to be ready across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

The resolutions followed a motion sponsored by Senator Francis Adedayo Faduyile, representing Ondo South Senatorial District.

Beyond the immediate response, the Senate urged the National Assembly and the Ministry of Health to repeal and re-enact the Quarantine Act, originally enacted in 1926, to establish a modern public health law aligned with the International Health Regulations (2005).

With contact-tracing under way, Uganda seeking more information and lawmakers demanding urgent funding and stricter border checks, the immediate challenge for Nigeria is to determine the circumstances surrounding the infection, account for those who may have been exposed and prevent the case from developing into a wider outbreak.