Ebola Fears Mount as Diplomat's Wife Is Evacuated to Switzerland and Nigeria Monitors 52 Contacts

A Swiss woman infected with Ebola has been flown from Nigeria to Switzerland on Monday morning alongside her diplomat husband, prompting continued health surveillance of 52 people who may have been exposed to the deadly virus.

The Ugandan-born wife of a Swiss diplomat stationed in Abuja, Nigeria's capital, was flown on a medical evacuation flight on Monday, 26 October, after being stabilised by Nigerian doctors. She is receiving specialist treatment in Geneva, while her husband has been placed in isolation at a separate hospital in Zurich.

In a post on social media platform X, Health Minister Muhammad Ali Pate said that the woman was 'stable, conscious, communicating, and her clinical laboratory test results closing towards baseline.' Her spouse had remained asymptomatic, according to reports.

Health officials have yet to determine how the woman contracted the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, which has spread beyond the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Pate cautioned that her improving condition did not necessarily mean she was no longer infectious.

Diplomat's Wife Transferred Under Strict Health Precautions

Swiss authorities confirmed that the couple arrived safely following a medically supervised flight from Abuja. The woman was admitted to Geneva University Hospital, while her husband was taken to Zurich University Hospital and is treated in isolation, per The Associated Press.

Mohamed Janabi, WHO's regional director for Africa, said the couple's Swiss citizenship had prompted arrangements for their evacuation, adding that medical staff in Nigeria had been able to stabilise her condition after providing treatment during the most severe stage of her illness. Janabi also said the 52 contacts will continue to be monitored.

Janabi said Nigeria had no known active Ebola cases following the evacuation, although authorities would continue monitoring those potentially exposed. Switzerland's foreign ministry previously told The Associated Press that the woman had not visited Congo and was believed to have become infected during her travels to Uganda.

However, Ugandan authorities have questioned that assessment, and investigators have not established where the infection occurred. Uganda had earlier declared itself free of Ebola. 'With the evacuation of the patient and her husband, Nigeria currently has no Ebola cases,' Janabi said.

A possible connection involving Uganda's Entebbe International Airport is being investigated, after the Nigerian patient and an infected traveller subsequently identified in Kenya both passed through the airport on 3 October. However, authorities have not established that the two encountered each other or shared a source of infection.

Travel records and laboratory findings are being reviewed by African health officials to clarify the circumstances.

52 Potential Contacts Continue To Be Monitored

Nigerian authorities are continuing to monitor 52 people who had contact with the infected woman before her evacuation. Health officials initially identified 53 contacts, including her husband, who is now being monitored in Switzerland. Janabi confirmed that Switzerland would oversee the woman's treatment, while Nigeria would remain responsible for monitoring the other contacts. He said no confirmed Ebola cases remained in Nigeria following her departure.

The woman represents Nigeria's first confirmed Ebola infection in more than a decade. Her diagnosis prompted authorities to intensify disease surveillance and investigate possible transmission routes. Officials have maintained containment precautions despite her departure, recognising that people exposed to Ebola may develop symptoms after an incubation period.

The Bundibugyo outbreak has already affected several African countries, with the DRC recording the overwhelming majority of infections. According to figures reported by the Associated Press, more than 9,900 infections and 4,800 deaths have been documented in Congo since the outbreak began in May. Kenya has also reported nine cases, including two fatalities.