Luapula Province, which shares a long border and many communities with the Democratic Republic of Congo, has been the site this week of a national test of Zambia’s readiness for Ebola. Zambia Monitor reports that a delegation from the Zambia National Public Health Institute conducted a simulation exercise in Milenge district to assess how quickly mobile laboratories can be deployed and how fast they can return test results. ZNPHI acting director general Dr Nyambe Sinyange said the drill is part of national preparedness for the outbreak in the DRC, and that testing the plan in advance would expose gaps and strengthen coordination.
Luapula permanent secretary Prudence Chinama-Kangwa, receiving the delegation, called for stronger surveillance and cross-border cooperation, and said the mobile units would enhance the province’s ability to detect and respond promptly. The laboratories, worth US$1.7 million, were provided with United States support, according to US defence attaché Lieutenant Colonel Matt Yan; the exercise also involved the Defence Force Medical Services, the Disaster Risk Management Division and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, whose country director Diane Morof said it would check that laboratory results are accurate as well as prompt.
Swift and coordinated action will be critical to containing any potential Ebola case and preventing further transmission.
— Dr Wamunyima Chingumbe, Director General of Defence Force Medical Services, at the Milenge exercise, as reported by Zambia Monitor
The outbreak the drill is for
The World Health Organization’s Africa office said on Tuesday 20 October that Nigeria had confirmed an imported case of Ebola Bundibugyo virus disease in Abuja — the fifth country to detect the virus since the DRC declared its outbreak on 15 May 2026. The patient, a woman with recent travel to Uganda, fell ill on 7 October, sought care at a private facility on 11 October and was confirmed positive on 20 October; 44 contacts are being monitored. Kenya has reported nine cases linked to an imported case in recent weeks, WHO said.
Zambia Monitor, citing Uganda’s health ministry, reports that the woman had travelled on business to eastern DRC and only transited Uganda, and that investigators have yet to establish where she was infected. The same report puts the outbreak at more than 9,500 infections and over 4,600 deaths and says WHO has called it the fastest-spreading Ebola outbreak on record; Lusaka Brief has not verified those totals against a WHO page.
WHO’s advice to countries in the region is to keep surveillance strong, have laboratories ready to test safely, pre-position supplies, engage communities and heighten monitoring at points of entry — while advising against restrictions on travel to or trade with affected countries. Neither report describes any new measures at Zambia’s own border posts.
Sources: Zambia Monitor, “Luapula official calls for stronger disease surveillance, cross-border cooperation against Ebola” (21 Oct 2026); WHO Africa, “Nigeria confirms imported case of Ebola Bundibugyo virus disease” (20 Oct 2026); Zambia Monitor, “Nigeria detects Ebola in nation’s capital, traces 44 contacts” (21 Oct 2026).