A Swiss woman receiving treatment for Ebola in Nigeria has been evacuated to Switzerland alongside her husband as health authorities continue monitoring 52 people who came into contact with her.
Nigerian Health Minister Muhammad Pate said the woman left Abuja early Monday with his authorisation after her condition improved significantly. She was reported to be stable, conscious and able to communicate, although officials warned that she could still be infectious.
Pate emphasised that strict safety measures remain in place despite her improvement. The woman’s husband, a Swiss diplomat stationed in Nigeria, has shown no symptoms and is being monitored by Swiss authorities.
World Health Organization Regional Director for Africa Mohamed Janabi said the evacuation was arranged because the couple are Swiss citizens. He added that Nigerian medical teams had stabilised the patient after treating her through the acute phase of the disease.The woman tested positive for Ebola after returning to Abuja from Uganda, although Nigerian authorities have not established how she contracted the virus.
Switzerland’s Foreign Ministry said she was believed to have been infected while travelling to Uganda with her husband and had not visited the Democratic Republic of Congo.The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the first Ebola patients identified in Nigeria and Kenya had both travelled through Uganda’s Entebbe International Airport on October 3.
Kenya has recorded nine cases, including two deaths, since confirming its first case earlier this month.Following the evacuation, health authorities said Nigeria had no remaining confirmed Ebola cases, but surveillance and containment measures would continue.
Officials have urged the public to remain vigilant as efforts to trace contacts and prevent further transmission continue.The outbreak has raised concerns over the spread of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola beyond the Democratic Republic of Congo.
According to figures cited in the report, Congo has recorded more than 9,900 cases and over 4,800 deaths since the outbreak began in May, with the World Health Organization warning of the outbreak’s rapid spread.
