The Nigeria Ebola patient, a Swiss woman, and her husband, a Swiss diplomat in Nigeria, were medically evacuated from Abuja to Switzerland on Monday, officials said. The transfer came as 52 contacts remain under monitoring and Nigeria’s Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) defends the decision.
Nigerian Health Minister Muhammad Pate said the woman left Abuja early Monday with his approval. According to AP, Pate said her condition had improved significantly and that she was stable and conscious.
NCDC Director-General Jide Idris said the transfer was approved after consultations with Pate and followed a formal request from the Swiss Embassy, according to Premium Times, as reported by allAfrica. Idris said the patient had tested positive twice before the evacuation and that infection control protocols were followed from the hospital to the aircraft. He rejected a suggestion that the patient had been "snuck out" of the country.
According to Pate’s X update, as reported by Premium Times via allAfrica, the woman is being treated at Geneva University Hospitals. Her husband is in isolation at University Hospital Zurich.
The World Health Organization’s regional director for Africa, Mohamed Janabi, said Nigeria currently has no Ebola cases, while 52 contacts continue to be monitored, according to AP.
The outbreak involves the Bundibugyo virus, for which Idris said there are no established drugs to treat it. AP reports that Congo’s health ministry has recorded more than 9,900 cases and more than 4,800 deaths since the outbreak began in May. The WHO calls it the fastest-spreading Ebola outbreak on record. Kenya has recorded nine cases, including two deaths, and on Monday released 20 quarantined contacts. The patient is believed to have been infected while travelling to Uganda. These figures are as reported by AP and have not been independently verified.
Pate said Nigeria could declare the outbreak over as early as 7 December if no further confirmed or probable cases are detected. Contact monitoring continues.
Much of the account rests on AP and on Premium Times as excerpted by allAfrica; only a headline and short excerpt of the Premium Times report were available. The reason for the evacuation rests on NCDC and Pate statements, with no independent confirmation. Nigerian authorities had not established how the woman contracted the virus, and sources give different contact figures, 52 and 53, without explanation, though the WHO said the husband was among the 53 previously identified.
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This article was written with AI assistance from the published reporting listed above. It is part of the World Brief daily news podcast.