Of the eight, only a doctor who treated the traveller has so far tested positive for Ebola. The others are being tested, with results pending, said Lagos state health health commissioner Jide Idris.
The official death toll for the worst-ever outbreak for the disease stood at 887 yesterday, according to the World Health Organisation. Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia have been affected much more severely than Nigeria, which has experienced only one death. Though as Africa's most populous nation, Nigeria poses a grave risk of the disease catching on like wildfire.
Most of the people in quarantine had made contact in a hospital in Lagos with Liberian-American Patrick Sawyer, Idris told reporters. Sawyer died on July 25, five days after arriving in Nigeria.
Others may have been infected in Lagos, a city with a population of about 21 million, before doctors suspected that Sawyer had Ebola. They put him in isolation about 24 hours after he arrived at the hospital.
"At that point in time, especially the first day, the nature of the disease was not known," said Idris.
During that window of time, it's possible more people got infected, he said as he defended the actions of health authorities.
"If they knew his history they probably would have taken better precautions," he said.
The eight quarantined people, who include the doctor, are among 14 who had "serious direct contact" with Sawyer, most of them at the hospital, Idris said. Authorities are following the conditions of a total of 70 people who had primary contact with Sawyer, and now they are tracking the secondary contacts of the eight people in quarantine, Idris said.
He said volunteers are needed to track down all the people who potential carriers of the disease had been in contact with.
The West African outbreak of Ebola started in March.
British Airways suspends flights
British Airways has suspended flights to Liberia and Sierra Leone until the end of August over concerns about the Ebola outbreak.
The carrier normally operates a four-times-a-week service from Heathrow to Freetown in Sierra Leone, with a connection on to Monrovia in Liberia.
"We have temporarily suspended our flights to and from Liberia and Sierra Leone until August 31 2014 due to the deteriorating public health situation in both countries," BA said in a statement.
"The safety of our customers, crew and ground teams is always our top priority and we will keep the routes under constant review in the coming weeks.
"Customers with tickets on those routes are being offered a range of options including a full refund and the ability to rebook their flights to a later date."
Second American en route to US for treatment
A second American who contracted Ebola while caring for patients in West Africa is on her way to a US hospital for treatment.
A medical evacuation plane carrying Christian missionary Nancy Writebol left Liberia on Tuesday and was headed to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, the same facility where American doctor Kent Brantly is being treated.
He was also sickened with the dangerous virus while taking care of patients in the Liberian capital. Brantly's arrival on Saturday marked the first time a patient with Ebola landed for treatment in the United States.
Tests continue on patient in New York
Meanwhile, doctors in New York are running tests on a patient who was hospitalised with high fever symptoms similar to those of Ebola, which include vomiting, diarrhoea, fever and sometime bleeding.
The man had recently travelled to West Africa.
"Odds are this is not Ebola. It's much more likely it's a much more common condition," said Mount Sinai Hospital president David Reich, noting that testing and confirmation with the CDC in Atlanta would take 48 to 72 hours.
The World Bank, meanwhile, has pledged up to $US200 million ($A216 million) to Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone to help those nations contain the outbreak.
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