Nigeria's disease-control agency says it is investigating two suspected Ebola cases in the North-East. In its statement dated 31 October, the NCDC said both individuals had been isolated and laboratory testing was underway. Neither case had been confirmed in that announcement.
Officials are identifying and listing contacts while the two suspected cases are assessed. The agency emphasised that classification as a suspected case is not a positive laboratory diagnosis. Reuters and Channels Television both reported the statement; the next decisive information will be the test results.
The update does not identify the affected state, the individuals or their travel histories. It also does not establish a connection between these suspected cases and Nigeria's previously confirmed imported case. Reporting that Ebola has now been confirmed in the North-East would go beyond the evidence released.
For context, WHO's 23 October update described a separate imported Bundibugyo virus case confirmed in Abuja on 20 October, involving a patient who had travelled from Uganda. That earlier confirmation must not be treated as confirmation of the two newly suspected cases, whose laboratory status remains unresolved.
While testing of the suspected cases continues, NCDC advises the public to maintain good hand hygiene, improve sanitation and follow public-health guidance. The announcement provides no basis for identifying particular communities or individuals as infected, and this report does not speculate about them.
NCDC says it will release further information once verified. For now, the confirmed development is an investigation and precautionary response involving two suspected cases, not two newly confirmed infections. Readers should check the agency's subsequent updates before sharing claims that the tests are positive or that transmission has been established.