The World Health Organization (WHO) has said Nigeria currently has no active Ebola cases following the successful evacuation of an infected patient and her husband to Switzerland and the containment of all suspected cases, marking a major public-health milestone for the country.
WHO Regional Director for Africa Mohamed Janabi said the evacuation took place early Monday and that both the patient and her husband are Swiss citizens.
The patient was clinically stable after Nigerian medical teams managed her through the acute phase of the illness, Janabi said.
Nigeria will continue monitoring 52 contacts, while Switzerland will manage the patient and follow up with her husband, listed as contact No. 53, he added.
Janabi congratulated the Federal Government, health workers, clinicians, emergency responders and partners involved in the response, describing the outcome as a notable achievement.
He said the case demonstrated Africa’s public-health expertise and the value of cross-border cooperation during health emergencies.
Despite the evacuation, he stressed that vigilance remains critical, urging continued contact monitoring and other response measures.
Nigeria’s Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, confirmed the evacuation in a post on X, saying he approved the transfer and that the patient was accompanied by her asymptomatic spouse.
“The index patient was clinically much improved, stable, conscious, communicating, and her clinical laboratory test results were closing towards baseline,” Pate said.
“This does not mean she is not still infectious, hence the strict protocols in place.”
He commended clinical and public-health personnel for providing care and ensuring the evacuation complied with appropriate health measures, adding that the government would provide further updates once the couple arrived safely in Switzerland.
Nigeria confirmed its first imported case of Bundibugyo Ebola virus disease on October 20 after laboratory testing confirmed infection in a woman with a recent travel history to Uganda.
She developed symptoms on October 7, four days after arriving in Nigeria, and sought medical care in Abuja on October 11, according to the WHO.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) activated its incident-management system and began contact tracing, laboratory investigations and infection-prevention measures.
Its October 24 situation report identified 53 contacts, including health workers, domestic staff and the patient’s spouse; none had tested positive at the time of the report.
On October 23, Pate said genomic analysis showed that the virus isolated from the Nigerian patient was closely related to the virus identified in Kenya’s index case, though he cautioned that the genetic relationship didn’t establish direct transmission between the two cases.
Bundibugyo virus disease is caused by a species of Ebola virus and spreads through direct contact with the blood or body fluids of an infected person or contaminated materials.
