Nigeria’s Ebola index patient has been evacuated to Switzerland aboard an air ambulance from Abuja, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, has confirmed.
In an announcement printed on his official X account on Monday, Pate mentioned the evacuation occurred earlier that morning together with his approval.
He added that the patient’s partner, who had remained asymptomatic, accompanied her on the flight.
Health Minister confirms Ebola patient’s evacuation
Pate mentioned the patient was clinically a lot improved, steady, acutely aware and speaking on the time of the evacuation, together with her laboratory check outcomes approaching baseline ranges. However, he cautioned that her improved situation didn’t imply she was not infectious.
The minister mentioned strict public well being protocols have been adopted through the evacuation and thanked the medical workers who handled the patient, in addition to the general public well being personnel who coordinated the switch.
- “I confirm that, with my approval, earlier this morning, the index case for Nigeria’s first imported Ebola virus disease departed Abuja for Switzerland,” Pate wrote on X.
- He mentioned the patient was evacuated alongside her partner, who had remained asymptomatic.
- The minister pressured that the patient might nonetheless be infectious regardless of her improved medical situation, explaining that strict protocols have been maintained through the switch.
Pate mentioned additional updates could be supplied after the patient and her partner arrived at their vacation spot. His affirmation adopted an earlier report by ARISE News, which mentioned the patient had been transported from the personal jet wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.
How Nigeria detected Its first Ebola case
Nigeria confirmed its first imported case of Bundibugyo Ebola virus disease on October 20, 2026, after laboratory exams detected the an infection in a lady who had lately travelled from Uganda.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, introduced the case in Abuja, stating that the patient was receiving medical care in isolation as authorities started tracing individuals who might need been uncovered to the virus.
- According to the Federal Government, the lady developed signs on October 7, together with her situation worsening 4 days later. She was admitted to a personal hospital in Abuja, the place she acquired therapy for a number of days earlier than laboratory exams confirmed the an infection.
- Following affirmation, the Federal Ministry of Health, the FCT Health Secretariat, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and different companions intensified efforts to include the an infection.
Authorities additionally strengthened surveillance on the nation’s entry factors and urged well being services to determine and promptly report suspected instances.
NCDC tracks 53 Ebola contacts
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) disclosed on Sunday, October 25, that it had identified two additional suspected Ebola cases and 53 major contacts as surveillance and investigations continued.
The company clarified that the 2 suspected instances had not been confirmed by laboratory exams and shouldn’t be handled as confirmed infections.
- Of the 53 major contacts, 44 have been linked to the well being facility the place the patient was handled, whereas the remaining 9 comprised three family members, together with the patient’s husband, driver and chef; three individuals who attended to her at Julius Berger Clinic earlier than her switch to one other facility; and three members of the staff that collected her samples.
- The determine marked a rise from the 44 contacts initially recognized when the Federal Government introduced Nigeria’s imported Ebola case on October 20. The NCDC mentioned contact tracing and monitoring have been ongoing to determine potential publicity and scale back the danger of additional transmission.
Meanwhile, Nigerian, Ugandan and worldwide well being authorities have been investigating the supply of the an infection. Genomic analysis showed that the virus detected in Nigeria was closely related to the strain identified in Kenya’s initial case, though Nigerian authorities mentioned no direct epidemiological hyperlink between the 2 sufferers had been established.
Nigeria steps up Ebola surveillance
Nigeria’s Ebola case emerged amid a wider regional outbreak of Bundibugyo Ebola virus illness, with infections reported within the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Kenya, elevating issues about cross-border transmission.
In Nigeria, the Federal Government has mentioned it’s drawing on classes from the 2014 Ebola outbreak. Health authorities have urged medical services to stay vigilant and suggested Nigerians to practise good hygiene and search steering in the event that they develop Ebola-like signs after travelling to affected areas.
