The Federal Government has urged Nigerians not to panic over the country’s first confirmed Ebola case in more than a decade, stressing that authorities have the capacity to contain the imported infection.

Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare Muhammad Ali Pate made the call on Wednesday after meeting Chief of Staff to the President Femi Gbajabiamila at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

Pate confirmed that a woman who arrived in Nigeria on an international flight from Uganda tested positive for Ebola after seeking treatment at a private hospital in the Federal Capital Territory. The patient is in isolation and receiving care. Health officials have identified 44 contacts and are conducting intensive contact tracing.

“We have found this one case. We are doing contact tracing, and we are putting containment measures to ensure that it doesn’t go into our population,” Pate said. “Federal government has competent authorities to be able to deal with this. We have done it in 2014, and we have good public health institutions. Nigerians should be reassured.”

He urged the public to remain vigilant but avoid hysteria or panic, respect information from trusted sources, and refrain from spreading misinformation. “It’s one case. It’s an imported case, and we are containing it,” he added. “If the situation changes, we’ll come out and inform Nigerians.”

The Presidential Task Force on Ebola Preparedness, chaired by Gbajabiamila, also met in an emergency session and assured citizens that response systems, including those of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), are fully activated. Officials credited early detection protocols and noted collaboration with the World Health Organization and Africa CDC.

The case involves Bundibugyo Ebola virus and marks Nigeria’s first detection since the 2014 West African outbreak. Authorities continue to monitor contacts, strengthen infection prevention at the treating facility, and call on healthcare workers nationwide to maintain a high index of suspicion.

•Health workers attend to an Ebola patient in Democratic Republic of Congo

Ebola is a severe viral disease that can cause high levels of mortality.

The WHO says the average case fatality rate across Ebola disease outbreaks is approximately 50 per cent, although the rate varies substantially according to the virus, outbreak circumstances and access to care.

The virus is not airborne in the manner of infections that spread through ordinary breathing in shared indoor spaces.

According to the WHO, transmission between people occurs primarily through direct contact with the blood or other body fluids of an infected person who has developed symptoms, or someone who has died from the disease.

Infection can occur when contaminated fluids enter the body through broken skin or the eyes, nose or mouth.

Objects contaminated with infectious body fluids, including clothing, bedding and medical equipment, can also spread the virus.

People may also become infected through contact with infected animals, particularly when handling sick or dead wildlife or consuming inadequately handled products from infected animals.

Traditional burial practices involving direct contact with the body of someone who died from Ebola can contribute to transmission if appropriate precautions are not taken.

Healthcare workers and family members caring for patients without suitable protective measures can face a heightened risk.

The WHO says people infected with Ebola do not transmit the disease before symptoms develop.

Once symptoms begin, they can remain infectious while the virus is present in their blood.

The incubation period — the time between infection and the appearance of symptoms — ranges from two to 21 days.

The Federal Government has confirmed Nigeria’s first case of Ebola virus disease in the current regional outbreak, authorities announced Tuesday.

A woman who recently arrived in the country on an international flight from Uganda tested positive after being treated for several days at a private hospital in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. Laboratory confirmation was received on October 20.

The patient is now in isolation and receiving medical care. Health officials have identified 44 close contacts so far and begun contact tracing. These include healthcare workers, other patients, caregivers, and travel contacts.

Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate said the Federal Ministry of Health, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), and FCT health authorities are working together to contain the infection and prevent further spread. Surveillance has been intensified, and the hospital where the patient was treated is receiving support to strengthen infection prevention and control measures.

Pate urged healthcare facilities nationwide to maintain a high index of suspicion, promptly isolate suspected cases, and report them immediately. He also called on the public to cooperate with contact-tracing teams, avoid spreading unverified information, and refrain from stigmatising those who may have been exposed.

Nigeria successfully contained an Ebola outbreak in 2014. Officials say the country has the experience and public health systems needed to respond to this case. The confirmation comes amid a wider regional outbreak linked to cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and elsewhere.