Swiss diplomat's wife hospitalized in Zurich after contracting Ebola in Uganda
Nigeria's first Ebola case in over a decade was flown to Europe for treatment as officials confirm the infection occurred during a two-week stay in Uganda.
By Julia Wang ·
One patient represents Nigeria's first confirmed Ebola case in more than a decade, a status that triggered an emergency medical evacuation to Europe this week. The woman, a Ugandan-born national married to a Swiss diplomat based in Abuja, arrived in Switzerland on Monday following a two-week period in Uganda. Her husband accompanied her on the flight and was also admitted to care immediately upon their arrival.
The couple was split between two major medical facilities in the country. The husband is currently receiving treatment at the University Hospital Zurich. The wife is under care at the Geneva University Hospital, according to information released by the Canton of Geneva. Both individuals were transported directly from Nigeria to Swiss soil to ensure specialized isolation protocols were followed without delay.
Swiss authorities moved quickly to assess the domestic impact of the arrivals. A statement from the Swiss government asserted that the situation does not pose any risk to public health within the country. The Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs communicated on Thursday that the woman is believed to have contracted the virus while traveling in Uganda. This assessment aligns with findings from the World Health Organization and the African Centre for Disease Control.
The diagnosis places the patient in the midst of an outbreak that originated in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The virus has since been reported in four countries across East, Central, and West Africa. This geographic spread marks the widest reach of any Ebola outbreak on the African continent to date. The patient’s arrival in Nigeria raised concerns because the country had been declared Ebola-free in August.
A dispute over the patient’s recent travel history emerged between regional officials. Alan Kasujja, the Ugandan government spokesperson, told Reuters on Thursday that Uganda had no Ebola cases. He stated that if cases existed, the information would have been made public. Uganda denied the patient had recently visited the Democratic Republic of Congo, a claim supported by the lack of confirmed travel data provided to international health agencies.
Source: The Jerusalem Post
