Uganda’s Ministry of Health has denied reports of an Ebola outbreak in the country after Nigeria confirmed a case of the virus in its capital territory.

Nigeria’s health minister, Muhammad Pate, said the case was confirmed by laboratory testing. The patient is a woman who recently flew to Nigeria from Uganda. She returned with symptoms on October 7 and was admitted to a private hospital, where she received care for several days before the diagnosis was confirmed. She is now in isolation and receiving treatment.

Authorities have identified 44 contacts and begun tracing and monitoring them.  Surveillance has been strengthened at entry points, and the health ministry is working with the FCT Health Secretariat, the Africa CDC and other partners to contain the infection.

Pate urged the public to stay calm and vigilant, practise good hygiene and watch for symptoms such as fever, weakness, headache and diarrhoea. He said Nigeria is drawing on lessons from its response to the 2014 Ebola outbreak and will provide timely, transparent updates. There are also reports that Nigeria’s aviation minister has ordered a 21-day no-fly restriction for the 46 contacts linked to the case.

Uganda, however, said the Nigerian case does not prove an outbreak there. In a statement, the ministry said the location of exposure remains under investigation, and that travelling through Uganda alone is not enough to establish where the infection occurred. It said Nigeria had not yet provided detailed information about the woman’s itinerary and clinical history, which would help guide further investigation and contact tracing. Uganda said it is reinforcing screening and public health controls at points of entry.

Uganda recorded Ebola infections earlier in 2026 but declared its outbreak over after completing the required period without a new confirmed case.

The case comes amid an ongoing outbreak of the Bundibugyo virus linked to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kenya, which confirmed its first imported case in early October, reported a ninth case. Its health ministry said all nine cases belong to one known cluster, and that the eight surviving patients are responding well to supportive care. The first Kenyan patient had travelled from the DRC through Uganda before arriving in Nairobi.

The regional cases have raised concerns about the virus spreading across borders. Ebola spreads through direct contact with the blood or other bodily fluids of an infected person, or with contaminated materials. Symptoms can include fever, headache, severe weakness, vomiting and diarrhoea.