Swiss government says Nigeria Ebola patient did not travel to DR Congo
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on TimesLIVE
The Ebola patient in Nigeria and her husband, a Swiss diplomat posted in Abuja, did not travel to DR Congo, the Swiss foreign ministry said. The statement contradicts Ugandan authorities’ account of her itinerary, while the WHO and African health agencies say they have not confirmed a trip to DR Congo, Reuters reports.
Switzerland says the Ebola patient in Nigeria and her husband did not travel to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, contrary to statements by Ugandan authorities. The Swiss foreign ministry made the statement on Friday, Reuters reports.
Ugandan authorities had said that the woman, who was born in Uganda and is the wife of a Swiss diplomat posted in Abuja, had travelled to eastern DR Congo, where an outbreak is raging. The World Health Organization and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said they had not received confirmation of this trip. Switzerland had previously said that she might have contracted the virus during a stay in Uganda, a country that says it has no active cases.
Nigeria has confirmed its first Ebola case in more than ten years. According to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the outbreak has affected four countries — DR Congo, Uganda, Kenya and Nigeria — and killed about 4,700 people. Uganda, which recorded 20 cases in May and June, was declared Ebola-free by the WHO in August.
The Swiss statement comes after Bern already denied, on 23 October, that the patient had travelled to DR Congo (the Swiss denial of the trip). Nigerian authorities had previously confirmed an isolated case in a female traveller (the first confirmed case in Nigeria).
Update of 23 October 2026: Health authorities are seeking to determine where the Nigerian patient contracted the Ebola virus after Switzerland said she had not travelled to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Read: Ebola in Nigeria: patient may have been infected in Uganda, Switzerland says.
