Nigeria’s index case of Ebola virus disease and her husband have been evacuated to Switzerland for further treatment.
The 42-year-old wife to a swiss diplomat, who tested positive to the virus, was airlifted from the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja on Monday aboard an air ambulance.
Muhammad Pate, Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare confirmed this via his X account.
He stated that that the index patient has clinically improved, is stable and conscious, while her husband remained asymptomatic.
“I confirm that, with my approval, earlier this morning, the index case for Nigeria’s first imported Ebola virus disease departed Abuja for Switzerland. The index patient was clinically much improved, stable, conscious, communicating, and her clinical laboratory test results closing towards baseline”, Pate wrote.
He, however, warned that her improvements do not mean she is not infectious, stating that strict protocols were put in place before her evacuation.
“This does not mean she is not still infectious, hence the strict protocols in place. The patient was evacuated along with her spouse who has remained asymptomatic.
‘I thank all the various clinical staff for the high quality care they provided the patient as well as the public health personnel who ensured the evacuation was carried out in line with best public health measures for such evacuations”, Pate added.
He urged Nigerians to remain vigilant and rely on information from credible sources.
The evacuation comes amid an ongoing investigation into how the woman contracted the virus, with conflicting accounts of her possible exposure and new evidence linking the Nigerian case genetically to an infection detected in Kenya.
The patient arrived in Nigeria on October 3 after travelling from Uganda through Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. She developed symptoms, including fever, diarrhoea, generalised body aches and a sore throat, on October 7, four days after arriving in the country.
She sought medical attention at a private health facility in Abuja on October 11, before laboratory tests confirmed the infection on October 20. The diagnosis prompted health authorities to isolate the patient, strengthen infection prevention measures and begin tracing people who might have been exposed to the virus.
The circumstances surrounding the infection have drawn attention to Uganda, where the woman had recently travelled, and to the wider regional spread of the Bundibugyo strain.
Switzerland’s foreign ministry said the woman was the wife of a Swiss diplomat stationed in Abuja and believed she had contracted the virus during a trip to Uganda.
Swiss authorities said neither the woman nor her husband had travelled to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where the current outbreak began.
Uganda, however, disputed the suggestion that the infection could be attributed to the country. Its health authorities said the woman’s travel history required further investigation, while Nigerian and Ugandan officials began exchanging information to establish her movements and possible exposure.
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