Ebola Patient Showing Signs Of Recovery, Says FG

The Federal Government says the Ebola patient in Nigeria is showing signs of recovery days after it confirmed the case in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). 

“The Federal Government has provided an update on the confirmed Ebola case in Nigeria, reporting that the patient is showing signs of recovery. There is currently no evidence of community spread,” the Federal Ministry of Health wrote in a post on its X handle on Friday.

“Contact tracing, quarantine and monitoring continue, alongside strengthened national coordination, health facility preparedness and public health measures.” 

It urged Nigerians to “follow recommended precautions, rely on information from recognised health authorities and avoid sharing unverified reports.”

comes days after the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) announced that the patient, a Ugandan-born lady, developed multi-organ failure after contracting Ebola disease.

It said a total of 44 contacts have been identified.

Authorities confirmed that the patient had the Bundibugyo species of Ebola, which is driving the outbreak in the DRC and for which there are currently no specific vaccines or treatments.

Providing details about the patient, Switzerland’s foreign ministry said Friday she is “the wife of a Swiss member of staff” at Bern’s embassy in the Nigerian capital, Abuja.

“The Swiss woman, who is symptomatic, has been hospitalised for about a week at a private clinic in Abuja,” it said in a statement.

“The infection may have occurred during a trip to Uganda approximately two weeks ago,” the Swiss authorities added.

“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,” it said.

“Neither individual travelled” to the DRC, the statement read in part.

According to the ministry, the 25 other embassy staff members — eight Swiss nationals and 17 local employees — “are also doing well”.

Following consultations with the Nigerian health ministry and the World Health Organization (WHO), they do not need to go into isolation, the statement said.

Bern is considering the “potential repatriation of the patient” to Switzerland, it added.