Two people in Yola suspected of having Ebola Virus Disease have tested negative after two rounds of laboratory testing, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, NCDC, said on Saturday, easing fears of a second outbreak focus in the country.
The Adamawa State Public Health Emergency Operations Centre received the report in the early hours of Friday, 30 October, after the two individuals presented with symptoms consistent with Ebola and were flagged for further investigation.
Both were immediately isolated and public health measures were activated, the agency said, and an alert was issued to health workers across the state that evening. Samples were collected and processed; both came back negative for the virus.
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“There is currently no laboratory-confirmed EVD case in Adamawa State,” NCDC Director-General Jide Idris said in the statement. “The index case previously confirmed in the Federal Capital Territory remains the only confirmed case reported in Nigeria to date.”
Nigeria confirmed that case on 20 October: a woman with recent travel history to Uganda who developed symptoms on 7 October, four days after arriving in the country, and sought care at a private facility in Abuja on 11 October.
Laboratory testing confirmed the Bundibugyo strain of the virus — for which there is no approved vaccine — making Nigeria the fifth country to detect it since an outbreak was declared in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on 15 May. She remains in isolation and under medical care, with dozens of contacts under follow-up.
Idris commended the Adamawa State Commissioner for Health and his team for what he described as a proactive response and said the NCDC would keep providing technical support to strengthen the state’s operations.
The agency urged the public to remain calm and to avoid circulating unverified claims about the situation, directing Nigerians to official government and public health channels for information — and to the NCDC’s toll-free line, 6232, to report suspected cases.
Ebola is a severe and often fatal illness that spreads through direct contact with the blood or body fluids of an infected person or with contaminated surfaces and materials. Early detection, clinical management and strict infection prevention and control are central to containing it.
The NCDC advised anyone with fever, severe weakness, headache, muscle pain, vomiting, diarrhoea or unexplained bleeding — particularly after a relevant exposure — to seek immediate medical attention and to tell health workers about any travel or contact history. It warned against self-medication.
The agency said it would continue monitoring the situation with the Adamawa State Government and other stakeholders and would issue updates as verified information becomes available.
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