•Jean Kaseya
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has called for urgent international support to contain the Ebola Bundibugyo outbreak following confirmation of a case in Nigeria, warning that the epidemic has become a major regional public health threat.
The Director-General of Africa CDC, Dr Jean Kaseya, made the appeal today, Tuesday, October 20, 2026, after speaking with Nigeria’s Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate, who informed him of the confirmed case in the Federal Capital Territory, reports The PUNCH.
Kaseya commended Pate for promptly communicating the development, stressing that transparency and early reporting were essential to saving lives and strengthening the response to the outbreak.
The appeal came as Kenya confirmed its ninth Ebola case on October 20, while the Democratic Republic of the Congo continued to battle the outbreak, which has spread across several provinces.
In his statement titled “Ebola in Nigeria: An Urgent Call for Global Solidarity,” Kaseya said the outbreak, which Africa CDC declared on May 15, 2026, had developed into a cross-border emergency requiring coordinated action by governments and international partners.
“This Ebola Bundibugyo outbreak has already become the most geographically widespread Ebola outbreak in history, affecting multiple countries across three regions of Africa,” he said.
Kaseya warned that the situation in the DRC remained particularly severe, with the mortality rate approaching 50 per cent. He said Africa CDC had begun mobilising support for Nigeria while intensifying its response in the DRC and Kenya and maintaining heightened vigilance in Uganda.
His appeal followed Nigeria’s confirmation of an Ebola case in Abuja involving a woman who had recently travelled from Uganda. The patient developed symptoms on October 7 and sought treatment at a private hospital on October 11 before laboratory tests confirmed the infection on October 20.
Nigeria’s health authorities have identified 44 contacts and commenced contact tracing, while the patient remains in isolation and receives medical care. The government has also intensified surveillance and urged health facilities to strengthen infection prevention and control measures.
Kenya, meanwhile, had recorded nine confirmed cases, including one death, as of October 20, according to reports from the country’s health authorities. The cases have been linked to the initial patient, a Kenyan man who travelled from the DRC through Uganda to Nairobi and died on October 5.
The latest confirmed case was already in quarantine before testing positive, with Kenyan authorities reporting no evidence of transmission beyond the identified cluster.
The outbreak has placed additional pressure on regional health systems, particularly as countries work to identify contacts, strengthen surveillance and prevent further cross-border transmission.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention had earlier announced heightened vigilance on October 6, following confirmation of an imported Bundibugyo Ebola case in Kenya.
The agency said it was strengthening preparedness through surveillance, laboratory diagnosis, isolation and referral systems, contact tracing, infection prevention and control, and risk communication.
Against this backdrop, Kaseya called on the international community to provide immediate and flexible funding, medical supplies, diagnostic equipment, trained emergency responders and stronger community-based surveillance.
“My appeal to the international community is urgent: ACT NOW. We need immediate, flexible financing, medical supplies, diagnostics, trained responders and stronger community-based surveillance. We cannot allow this outbreak to spread to more countries or continue for another year”, he said.
The Africa CDC chief warned that delays in mobilising resources could cost lives, urging international health agencies, development partners and governments to scale up their support for affected countries.
He specifically called for coordinated action involving the World Health Organisation, the World Bank, Gavi, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, UNICEF, the African Union Commission, the Pandemic Fund, the European Commission, the United States Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the African Development Bank and other development partners.
Kaseya said the response must go beyond treating confirmed cases to strengthening community surveillance, improving access to diagnostic services, ensuring adequate medical supplies and equipping frontline health workers to identify and manage suspected infections.
He stressed that containing the outbreak in affected African countries was critical to protecting global health security.
“Africa’s health security is global health security. Stopping Ebola in Africa today means protecting the world. Nigeria has our full solidarity. Together, we must defeat this outbreak,” he said.
The Bundibugyo virus is a species of Ebola virus that can cause severe illness and death. It spreads primarily through direct contact with the blood and other body fluids of infected people who have developed symptoms, or through contaminated materials.
Symptoms may include fever, weakness, headache, muscle pain, vomiting and diarrhoea. Early detection, isolation, contact tracing and strict infection prevention measures are central to containing transmission.
Although the current outbreak has affected several countries, health authorities continue to emphasise that people identified as contacts are not necessarily infected and should follow public health guidance rather than face stigma or discrimination.
With Nigeria now responding to a confirmed case, Africa CDC’s appeal highlights the need for sustained regional coordination, rapid information-sharing and international financing to prevent further spread and strengthen the capacity of affected countries to manage the outbreak.
