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A Swiss woman being treated for Ebola in Nigeria has been flown home to Switzerland alongside her husband, as health authorities continue to track 52 people who were in contact with her.
Nigerian Health Minister Muhammad Pate said the patient, who was the country’s first case in the present outbreak, departed the capital, Abuja, early on Monday with his authorisation. Her health had improved significantly, leaving her stable, conscious and capable of communicating, he said.
“This does not mean she is not still infectious, hence the strict protocols in place,” Pate wrote on X. Her spouse, a Swiss diplomat stationed in Nigeria, has displayed no symptoms.
Mohamed Janabi, the World Health Organization’s regional director for Africa, explained that the evacuation occurred because the pair are Swiss citizens, adding that local medical teams had stabilised her after managing the acute phase of the disease.
The woman tested positive after returning to Abuja from Uganda. Nigerian authorities said Friday they had yet to establish how she contracted the virus (AP)
Switzerland is taking over her treatment and monitoring her husband, while Nigeria tracks the remaining 52 contacts.
“With the evacuation of the patient and her husband, Nigeria currently has no Ebola cases,” Janabi stated, emphasising that continued caution is essential. Pate confirmed that containment efforts stay in effect and asked Nigerians to remain alert.
The woman tested positive after returning to Abuja from Uganda. Nigerian authorities said Friday they had yet to establish how she contracted the virus.
Switzerland’s foreign ministry said that she had not visited Congo and was believed to have been infected while traveling to Uganda with her husband.
The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the first patients in Nigeria and Kenya had both traveled through Uganda’s Entebbe International Airport on Oct. 3. Uganda had previously reported Ebola cases but later declared itself free of the virus.
Kenya has recorded nine cases, including two deaths, since confirming its first case earlier this month.
The spread of Ebola beyond Congo has heightened longstanding fears among health authorities about the rapid transmission of the rare Bundibugyo virus.
The latest figures from Congo’s health ministry show more than 9,900 cases, including more than 4,800 deaths, since the outbreak began in May.
The WHO has said the outbreak is the fastest-spreading Ebola outbreak on record and is on track to surpass the death toll of the deadliest: West Africa’s 2014-2016 outbreak, which killed 11,000 people. Nigeria was among the countries affected, recording 20 cases before its outbreak was declared over after three months.
