In Abuja, 54 people are being monitored after Nigeria’s imported Ebola case, and most of the first 44 were health workers at the hospital that treated her. In Kenya, about 130 contacts were quarantined. If you are named as a contact, this is what to expect.
Who counts as a contact?
Anyone who may have been exposed to the blood or body fluids of a person with Ebola, or to contaminated items, from the time they became sick. That includes staff who cared for the patient, family and household members, people who handled samples, and sometimes fellow travellers or drivers. Nigeria added an e-hailing driver to its list this week.
What happens next
- 21 days of monitoring from your last exposure, the maximum incubation period.
- Daily checks on temperature and symptoms, either in a quarantine facility or at home with daily calls, depending on your risk level and local policy.
- Testing if you develop symptoms. In Abuja, three contacts whose condition changed were retested and all were negative.
- You are not infectious before symptoms appear. Quarantine is a precaution so that any illness is caught at once.
Support you should get
- In Nigeria, the NCDC approved N100,000 per person per week for accommodation and feeding for those in isolation or quarantine.
- Ask your employer in writing to confirm full pay during quarantine. You are absent because you did your job.
- Ask for psychological support. Fear and stigma are real.
For colleagues and families
Do not shun quarantined staff or their families. Stigma makes people hide symptoms and avoid reporting exposure, which is how outbreaks grow. Share only official information. In Nigeria, call the NCDC on 6232.
Related: Nigeria Ebola update · Kenya: health workers infected
Sources: Channels Television and Daily Trust (26 October 2026); AP (17 October 2026); WHO Ebola guidance.