Nigeria’s Ebola patient is wife of Swiss diplomat, Switzerland confirms

Switzerland’s foreign ministry has confirmed that the woman diagnosed with Ebola in Nigeria is the wife of a Swiss diplomat based in Abuja.

The 42-year-old Ugandan-born woman tested positive on October 20, becoming Nigeria’s first confirmed Ebola patient in more than a decade.

According to BBC News, the woman returned to Nigeria on October 3 after spending approximately two and a half weeks in Uganda with her husband.

She developed symptoms four days later and visited two private health facilities before her diagnosis.

Her husband remains in isolation without symptoms, while all 25 Swiss embassy employees in Abuja are reportedly healthy.

The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that the patient is receiving treatment and showing signs of improvement.

Health authorities have identified the infection as the Bundibugyo species of Ebola, although its source remains unknown.

Meanwhile, Nigerian authorities are expanding contact tracing beyond the 44 individuals initially identified, while genomic sequencing continues to establish possible links with regional outbreaks.