Updated: Ebola: Nigeria’s index patient evacuated to Switzerland, health minister confirms

Nigeria’s Ebola index patient has been evacuated to Switzerland, the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, has confirmed.

Mr Pate said the patient, whose evacuation was approved by him, departed Abuja early Monday alongside her spouse, who has remained asymptomatic.

In a post on his official X account on Monday, Mr Pate said the patient’s condition had improved significantly but warned that she could still be infectious, despite the improvement in her clinical condition and laboratory test results.

“The index patient was clinically much improved, stable, conscious, communicating, and her clinical laboratory test results were closing towards baseline,” he said.

Mr Pate added that the evacuation was conducted under strict public health protocols to minimise the risk of further transmission.

The confirmation follows an earlier report by ARISE News that the patient, a woman who is the wife of a Swiss diplomat in Nigeria, was evacuated through the private jet wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.

ARISE News reported that its sources had indicated that the evacuation would take place by 6 a.m. on Monday, with a medical evacuation aircraft already at the airport.

The news channel said its crew later observed a convoy of ambulances and diplomatic vehicles arriving from Abuja city centre and entering the airport’s private jet section.

Patient’s condition

Mr Pate said the patient’s improved condition did not mean she was no longer infectious, stressing that strict protocols remained necessary throughout the evacuation.

He commended the clinical staff who provided care for the patient and the public health personnel who coordinated the transfer, saying the evacuation was carried out in line with appropriate public health measures.

Mr Pate said the government would provide further updates later on Monday after the patient and her spouse arrived safely at their destination.

He added that public health measures were continuing to contain the imported infection and urged Nigerians to remain vigilant and rely on credible sources of information.

Ebola outbreak

The evacuation comes six days after Nigeria confirmed its first Ebola case in more than a decade, involving a 42-year-old Ugandan-born woman who lives in Abuja and returned from Uganda on 3 October.

She developed symptoms on 6 October and initially sought treatment at a private hospital, believing she had malaria, before being admitted to another facility.

PREMIUM TIMES reported on Sunday that the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) had identified 53 contacts linked to the patient, up from the 44 initially announced.

The contacts include healthcare workers, household members, domestic staff, her husband and people who attended to her at a clinic before she was admitted to another facility. None had tested positive or developed symptoms as of the briefing.

The NCDC says identified contacts are being monitored for 21 days after their last possible exposure, while surveillance, laboratory testing and infection prevention measures continue to prevent further transmission.