Switzerland has disputed Uganda's account of the travel history of a woman diagnosed with Ebola in Nigeria, confirming that the patient is the wife of a Swiss diplomat based in Abuja and denying claims that she visited the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo).
- Switzerland disputes Uganda's claim that a woman diagnosed with Ebola in Nigeria had visited DR Congo, confirming she only traveled to Uganda before returning to Nigeria.
- Swiss authorities believe she likely contracted Ebola in Uganda, but the exact source of her infection remains unknown.
- The patient, a 42-year-old Ugandan-born Swiss national and wife of a Swiss diplomat, tested positive on October 20, becoming Nigeria's first confirmed Ebola case in over a decade.
- Both the World Health Organization and Africa CDC state there is no verified evidence linking her to DR Congo, while investigations explore a possible link with a Kenyan Ebola patient at Entebbe airport.
The 42-year-old Ugandan-born Swiss national tested positive for Ebola on October 20, 2026, becoming Nigeria's first confirmed case in more than a decade and raising concerns about the spread of the disease across international borders.
According to the BBC, Switzerland's foreign ministry confirmed that the woman travelled to Uganda with her husband before returning to Nigeria on October 3, following a stay of about two and a half weeks.
Swiss authorities believe she may have contracted the virus during the visit, although health officials have yet to establish the source of infection.
Her husband is currently in isolation but has shown no symptoms. The ministry also confirmed that all 25 employees at the Swiss embassy in Abuja, including eight Swiss nationals and 17 local staff, were in good health.
Following consultations with Nigeria's Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization (WHO), the embassy decided that its employees did not need to isolate and would continue working under health and safety measures.
Switzerland disputes Uganda's travel claims
The case has drawn international attention following conflicting statements from Swiss and Ugandan authorities about the woman's movements before her diagnosis.
Ugandan officials had claimed that the woman travelled to eastern DR Congo, where a major Ebola outbreak began in May, before returning through Uganda.
However, Switzerland rejected that account on October 23.
"She and her husband did not travel to the Democratic Republic of the Congo," the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs told reporters.
Switzerland's denial contradicted Uganda's account, raising further questions about where the woman contracted the virus.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) and Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said they had received no verified information confirming that she visited DR Congo.
Uganda, which recorded 20 Ebola cases in May and June before being declared Ebola-free in August, maintains that it has no active infections.
Health authorities are investigating whether the woman crossed paths with a Kenyan Ebola patient at Uganda's Entebbe International Airport on October 3.
The Kenyan man had travelled from DR Congo through Uganda before arriving in Nairobi, where he later died, with eight additional infections subsequently confirmed in Kenya.
Africa CDC emergency response official Dr Wessam Mankoula described a possible connection between the two travellers as "one of the possible scenarios", but stressed that investigators had yet to establish a link.
Nigeria strengthens surveillance amid cross-border concerns
Nigeria's health authorities are expanding contact tracing beyond the 44 people initially identified as potentially exposed to the Swiss diplomat's wife.
The patient developed symptoms on October 7 and sought treatment at private health facilities before receiving her Ebola diagnosis nearly two weeks later.
She remains in isolation and is showing signs of improvement, according to the WHO.
Health officials are also conducting genomic sequencing to investigate whether her infection is linked to cases in other countries.
"The source of exposure is still not known. The travel history of the patient is still being pieced together," said WHO emergency response official Dr Patrick Otim.