--- title: Officials: Ebola Virus Suspected in Nigeria description: The deadly Ebola virus that has killed hundreds across West Africa may have hit Lagos, Nigeria, according to a ministry of health statement. canonical: https://time.com/3034014/ebola-nigeria-suspected/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-07-25T15:45:20.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T09:21:03.548Z article:section: Health og:title: Officials: Ebola Virus Suspected in Nigeria og:description: The deadly Ebola virus that has killed hundreds across West Africa may have hit Lagos, Nigeria, according to a ministry of health statement. og:url: https://time.com/3034014/ebola-nigeria-suspected/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9f4ecf85dfb5c2f7/69869d41810bbba0d7c92c21/ebola-west-africa-conakry-lagos.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3132 og:image:height: 1762 og:image:alt: Members of Doctors Without Borders (MSF) put on protective gear at the isolation ward of the Donka Hospital in Conakry, Guinea on July 23, 2014. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Officials: Ebola Virus Suspected in Nigeria twitter:description: The deadly Ebola virus that has killed hundreds across West Africa may have hit Lagos, Nigeria, according to a ministry of health statement. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9f4ecf85dfb5c2f7/69869d41810bbba0d7c92c21/ebola-west-africa-conakry-lagos.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Ebola Virus Suspected in Lagos, Nigeria  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Jul 25, 2014 3:45 PM UTC  Members of Doctors Without Borders put on protective gear at the isolation ward of the Donka Hospital in Conakry, Guinea on July 23, 2014. Members of Doctors Without Borders put on protective gear at the isolation ward of the Donka Hospital in Conakry, Guinea on July 23, 2014.Cellou Binani—AFP/Getty Images  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Jul 25, 2014 3:45 PM UTC The deadly Ebola virus that has killed hundreds across West Africa may have hit Africa’s most populous city, according to a [Thursday statement](http://www.lsmoh.com/news/press-statement-on-ebola-virus-disease-evd#.U9Jz5YBdVMo) from the country’s ministry of health. Officials in Lagos, Nigeria are testing a Liberian man after he collapsed at the city’s airport displaying symptoms of the disease. Government representatives also expressed concern because the man worked and lived in Liberia where the disease is prevalent. Blood samples have been sent to the World Health Organization to be tested. The virus has spread rapidly since an outbreak earlier this year, and [health organizations](http://time.com/2913079/doctors-without-borders-ebola/) have said they are struggling to control its spread. In a statement, Nigerian health officials asked that residents “remain calm and take appropriate measures for the prevention and control of the disease.” These prevention measures include avoiding contact with people or animals suspected of having the disease. While the outbreak has killed hundreds already in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, it could be especially damaging if it hit Lagos, an urban center with a population of 21 million. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3034014/ebola-nigeria-suspected/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3034014/ebola-nigeria-suspected/"},"headline":"Ebola Virus Suspected in Lagos, Nigeria","datePublished":"2014-07-25T15:45:20.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T09:21:03.548Z","description":"Samples have been sent to the WHO for testing","url":"https://time.com/3034014/ebola-nigeria-suspected/","keywords":["infectious diseases","Africa","World","health","WHO","Nigeria","World Health Organization","ebola","Lagos"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9f4ecf85dfb5c2f7/69869d41810bbba0d7c92c21/ebola-west-africa-conakry-lagos.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9f4ecf85dfb5c2f7/69869d41810bbba0d7c92c21/ebola-west-africa-conakry-lagos.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Members of Doctors Without Borders (MSF) put on protective gear at the isolation ward of the Donka Hospital in Conakry, Guinea on July 23, 2014.","caption":"Members of Doctors Without Borders (MSF) put on protective gear at the isolation ward of the Donka Hospital in Conakry, Guinea on July 23, 2014.","creditText":"Cellou Binani—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/infectious-diseases/","name":"infectious diseases"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3034014/ebola-nigeria-suspected/","name":"Ebola Virus Suspected in Lagos, Nigeria"}}]}] ```