A Swiss diplomat and his wife have reportedly been evacuated from Nigeria by air ambulance following an Ebola diagnosis involving the diplomat’s wife, who was identified in the report as the index case in the country.
According to Arise TV, the couple were flown out of Nigeria at about 6 a.m. from the private jet wing of Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja. A medical evacuation aircraft was reportedly waiting at the airport to transport them.
Video footage shared in connection with the evacuation showed a medical aircraft and its crew preparing to transport the patient. The operation was reportedly carried out under special medical arrangements because of concerns surrounding the suspected Ebola case.
The report stated that the Federal Government planned to announce the evacuation after the aircraft had taken off and left Nigerian airspace. The circumstances and destination of the flight were not specified in the supplied report.
Nigeria’s Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Ali Pate, later confirmed that the patient had been evacuated to Switzerland with her husband. He said the woman had improved clinically and was stable, conscious and able to communicate. However, he cautioned that her improved condition did not necessarily mean she was no longer infectious, stressing that strict public health precautions remained in place during the transfer.
The patient, a 42-year-old woman who was born in Uganda, had travelled to Nigeria from Uganda before developing symptoms. According to the World Health Organization, her symptoms began on October 7, four days after she arrived in Nigeria. She sought medical care in Abuja and tested positive for Bundibugyo virus disease on October 20. Investigations into how she contracted the infection remain ongoing.
Nigerian health authorities have identified 53 people who had contact with the patient, including healthcare workers and members of her household. The contacts have been placed under monitoring as part of efforts to detect any further infections. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has also continued surveillance and contact-tracing activities.
The evacuation comes as health authorities continue efforts to contain the regional Ebola outbreak. Nigeria confirmed an imported case of Bundibugyo virus disease in October, becoming one of several African countries affected by the outbreak. The World Health Organization has called for continued surveillance, early detection and coordinated public health measures across affected countries.
