Follow Us on Google
From Abdulrazaq Mungadi, Gombe
The Gombe State Government has activated its Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) response mechanisms following the reported outbreak in Nigeria, assuring residents that no person of interest has so far been identified in the state.
The state’s Commissioner for Health, Prof. Adamu Danladi Bojude, disclosed this on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, saying the Public Health Emergency Operations Centre (PHEOC) was on alert and receiving daily updates from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC).
The commissioner said the alert followed the diagnosis of an Ebola-positive case in a person arriving from Uganda, who is currently in isolation in Abuja.
He said contact tracing and follow-up had commenced, while Gombe was liaising with the Abuja emergency operations centre to identify anyone in the state who might have visited hospitals attended by the patient from October 7.
According to Bojude, anyone identified as a person of interest would undergo 21 days of quarantine, close monitoring and sample collection for screening. Those who develop symptoms would be isolated at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Gombe.
The state government also announced plans for a joint risk assessment and the activation of a technical working group on Ebola.
In a separate development, the government declared a cholera outbreak in Kedo village, Todi Ward, Billiri Local Government Area, after recording cases of diarrhoea and vomiting that resulted in two deaths on October 4.
Bojude said a rapid response team was immediately deployed to support the local government team in investigating the outbreak and treating affected residents at Primary Healthcare Centre, Sheila, free of charge.
He disclosed that 74 patients had been treated and discharged, with no patient currently on admission.
As of Wednesday, the state had recorded seven consecutive days without a new cholera case. The commissioner said the outbreak could be declared over on October 24 if no additional case was reported by then.
The government said it had activated an Incident Management System at the PHEOC to coordinate surveillance and response activities.
It urged residents to maintain proper personal, food and environmental hygiene and report suspected cholera cases to the nearest health facility for immediate treatment.
Bojude assured residents that the government was taking measures to contain the cholera outbreak and strengthen preparedness against Ebola and other public health emergencies.
