NIGERIA: FG Steps Up Border Surveillance As Ebola Outbreak Spreads In DR Congo

By Onoja Baba, Nigeria 

The Federal Government has intensified monitoring and screening procedures at all entry points into Nigeria following the outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The Director of Port Health Services at the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Akpan Nse, confirmed this in an interview on Friday.

He said additional staff had been deployed, with support from the World Health Organisation (WHO), to strengthen surveillance at airports, seaports, and land borders.

“We have intensified surveillance at all points of entry across the country, airports, land borders, and seaports. Every inbound traveller coming from Congo to Nigeria is thoroughly screened, and we collect their medical history through mandatory forms,” Nse explained.

He added that screening also applies to passengers transiting through the DRC, while private organisations have partnered with government to ensure that thermal scanners at airports remain fully functional.

The latest outbreak was declared in Kasai Province of the DRC, where health authorities have reported 28 suspected cases and 16 deaths, including four health workers, as of September 5, 2025. Laboratory tests confirmed the Ebola Zaire strain as the cause.

The World Health Organisation said it had released \$500,000 from its Contingency Fund for Emergencies to support the response. WHO Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, disclosed that the UN body already had teams on the ground in Kasai.

“We’re joining rapid response teams to trace contacts and find cases; we’re collecting and testing samples, and we’re providing technical expertise in surveillance, infection prevention and control, treatment, risk communication, and more,” Tedros said.

He added that 2,000 doses of Ebola vaccine prepositioned in Kinshasa were being released to vaccinate contacts and health workers.

Nigeria last recorded Ebola cases in 2014, when the country successfully contained an outbreak after the virus was imported through Lagos.

Health officials say lessons from that experience, coupled with enhanced screening measures, will help prevent the reintroduction of the virus into the country.