Ebola Outbreak: Swiss Patient Evacuated from Nigeria as Congo Toll Nears 10,000

A Ugandan-born Swiss citizen diagnosed with Ebola in Abuja last week is no longer in Nigeria. Health officials said she was medically evacuated to Switzerland on Monday with her husband. The move raises questions about how she contracted the virus, given that she did not visit the Democratic Republic of Congo, which remains the epicenter of the outbreak.

Nigerian Health Minister Muhammad Pate approved the departure, stating the woman was stable, conscious, and able to communicate. Her condition had improved, but Pate noted on X that strict protocols remained necessary because she was still infectious. Her husband, a Swiss diplomat based in Nigeria, showed no symptoms. The couple arrived in Switzerland, where the woman is receiving care in Geneva and her husband is in isolation at a hospital in Zurich.

Nigerian authorities are monitoring 52 people who had contact with the woman. The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said she traveled through Uganda's Entebbe International Airport on Oct. 3. Swiss officials told the Associated Press that she is believed to have been infected while traveling in Uganda with her husband. Nigerian officials had not yet established the specific source of transmission as of Friday.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, a nurse was killed and another health worker severely injured on Saturday in Bafwasende, Tshopo province. They were attacked while responding to an Ebola alert. World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the attack was part of a series of incidents hampering efforts to slow the outbreak. He posted on X that healthcare must always be protected and that everyone working to protect communities must work in dignity and safety.

The D.R.C. Health Ministry reports more than 9,800 confirmed cases and more than 4,700 deaths since the outbreak began in May. This makes it the deadliest Ebola outbreak in the country's history. The virus has affected eight provinces. In Ituri province, which has recorded the highest number of confirmed cases, a clinic in Mongbwalu discharged its two remaining patients. Ghebreyesus shared video of health workers dancing as they did so, noting no new positive cases had been confirmed at that clinic in five days.

Uganda, where the Swiss woman traveled, says it remains Ebola-free after declaring an end to its latest outbreak in July. However, the government announced new measures on Sunday requiring citizens returning from the D.R.C. to spend 21 days in quarantine at their own expense. Nonessential Congolese travelers will be returned through the nearest border crossing. Screening has intensified at Entebbe International Airport and land borders, requiring all arrivals, including diplomats, to complete a passenger locator form and undergo health screening.

In Kenya, the Health Ministry released the first group of 20 people who were in quarantine after contacting the country's index Ebola patient. They completed 21 days of monitoring without developing symptoms. Kenya has reported nine cases total, with two deaths. Director General Patrick Amoth said 98 others would be released in four waves starting Nov. 3. He described the release as a milestone but urged the public to maintain vigilance.