First Ebola patient from Nigeria evacuated to Switzerland; 52 contacts still monitored

Nigeria's first confirmed Ebola patient, a Swiss woman, was medically evacuated to Switzerland on Monday along with her husband, a Swiss diplomat who has shown no symptoms, officials said.

Nigerian Health Minister Muhammad Pate said he approved the evacuation from Abuja, noting her condition had improved significantly and that she was stable and able to communicate. He cautioned she remained infectious and that strict protocols were in place.

Switzerland's Federal Office of Public Health confirmed the couple arrived on a medical evacuation flight. The woman is being treated at Geneva University Hospital; her husband is in isolation at Zurich University Hospital. The agency said both facilities were equipped for their care.

WHO Regional Director for Africa Mohamed Janabi said Nigerian medical teams had stabilised the woman through the acute phase of illness before the evacuation, which was arranged because the couple hold Swiss citizenship. He said Nigeria currently has no Ebola cases but that vigilance remained critical. Nigerian authorities continue monitoring 52 people who had contact with her.

The woman tested positive after returning to Abuja from Uganda. Switzerland's foreign ministry told the Associated Press she was believed to have been infected during travel to Uganda and had not visited Congo.

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said the first patients in Nigeria and Kenya had both passed through Uganda's Entebbe International Airport on 3 October. Kenya has recorded nine cases, including two deaths, since confirming its first case earlier this month. On Monday, Kenya released 20 people from quarantine after 21 days without symptoms.