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Swiss authorities have confirmed that Nigeria’s latest Ebola patient is the wife of a Swiss diplomat, as health officials work to establish how she contracted the virus and identify people who may have been exposed.
The 42-year-old Ugandan-born woman, who lives in Abuja, tested positive for Ebola on October 20. Her case is Nigeria’s first confirmed infection in more than 10 years.
According to Switzerland’s foreign ministry, the woman and her husband travelled to Uganda earlier this month. Her husband is currently in isolation but has shown no symptoms.
The woman reportedly spent about a week receiving care at a private clinic in Abuja before doctors confirmed the infection. The World Health Organization, WHO, said she was being treated in isolation and her condition was improving.
The Swiss foreign ministry said all 25 employees at its embassy in Nigeria, including eight Swiss nationals and 17 Nigerian staff, were in good health and did not need to isolate. The decision followed consultations with Nigeria’s Ministry of Health and the WHO.
The embassy remains open, with precautionary health measures in place.
The woman returned to Nigeria on October 3 after spending about two and a half weeks in Uganda. However, investigators have yet to establish where she contracted the virus.
The Swiss government told Reuters that the patient had not travelled to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), contradicting earlier statements by Ugandan officials. The WHO said there was not enough evidence to determine where the infection occurred.
Health officials are also examining whether the woman had any contact with a Kenyan man who died from Ebola after travelling through Uganda’s main airport on the same day.
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, Africa CDC, said investigators were looking into the possibility that both patients had been exposed through shared equipment or other forms of contact. No connection has been confirmed.
The WHO said reconstructing the woman’s movements and possible exposure had been difficult because investigators had limited opportunities to interview her while she remained in hospital.
Nigeria’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention is conducting genomic sequencing to determine whether the infection is connected to other cases. Authorities have identified the virus as the Bundibugyo strain, which is also responsible for the current outbreak in DR Congo.
Ugandan officials had earlier claimed that the woman travelled to eastern DR Congo for business. However, the WHO, Africa CDC and Nigeria’s health ministry said they had received no verified information confirming that she visited the country.
Uganda maintains that it has no confirmed active Ebola cases, adding that the woman’s passage through the country does not necessarily mean she became infected there.