Swiss Embassy Staff Member’s Wife Is Nigeria’s Ebola Patient, Switzerland Says

Switzerland has confirmed that the woman diagnosed with Ebola in Nigeria is a Swiss national and the wife of an employee at its embassy in Abuja, while stressing that neither she nor her husband has visited the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo).

The Swiss foreign ministry said on Friday that the couple had recently travelled to Uganda, where the woman is believed to have contracted the virus approximately two weeks ago.

Nigeria announced its first recorded Ebola case on Tuesday after the woman arrived in Abuja on a flight from Uganda. Health authorities have since identified 44 contacts associated with the case.

The following day, Nigerian authorities confirmed that the patient had contracted the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, which is behind the current outbreak in DR Congo. The strain has no specific vaccines or treatments currently available.

In its statement, Switzerland’s foreign ministry described the patient as “the wife of a Swiss member of staff” at its diplomatic mission in Nigeria’s capital.

“The Swiss woman, who is symptomatic, has been hospitalised for about a week at a private clinic in Abuja,” the ministry stated.

It said the source of the infection may have been linked to the couple’s recent visit to Uganda, explaining that “the infection may have occurred during a trip to Uganda approximately two weeks ago”.

The woman’s husband has been placed in isolation as a precaution, although he has shown no symptoms.

“Her husband is in isolation; he has shown no symptoms. He accompanied his wife on the trip, during which she is believed to have contracted the Ebola virus,” the statement added.

The ministry emphasised that “Neither individual travelled” to DR Congo, despite the country being the centre of the current outbreak.

It also confirmed that the other 25 employees at the Swiss embassy, including eight Swiss nationals and 17 locally employed staff, were doing well.

The embassy personnel will not be required to isolate themselves following consultations with Nigeria’s health ministry and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Meanwhile, Switzerland is considering the “potential repatriation of the patient” for further arrangements in her home country.

Nigeria is now the fourth African country affected by the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak, after DR Congo, Uganda and Kenya.

The outbreak emerged in northeastern DR Congo in May and subsequently spread into Uganda. The neighbouring country recorded 20 confirmed cases, including two deaths, before officially declaring its outbreak over in August.

WHO figures as of October 20 showed that the epidemic had surpassed 9,700 confirmed cases, with 4,690 deaths recorded.

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