Nigeria's Ebola Case Traced to Swiss Diplomat

Swiss foreign ministry officials identified a Ugandan-born woman as the source of Nigeria's first Ebola case since 2015. The patient is the wife of a Swiss diplomat stationed in Abuja. Ministry officials stated she likely contracted the virus while traveling with her husband in Uganda. This assertion directly contradicts previous reports from Ugandan authorities, which claimed the woman visited eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

The discrepancy complicates containment efforts for an outbreak that has now reached a fourth African nation. Uganda declared itself Ebola-free in August after reporting cases in May and June. A Ugandan government spokesperson told Reuters on Thursday that the country currently has no active cases. The spokesperson added that Uganda would publicize the information if that status changed.

Health officials are investigating a potential link to a patient in Kenya. Dr. Wessam Mankoula, head of emergency preparedness at the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, noted that both individuals passed through Entebbe airport on 3 October. Catherine Smallwood, a WHO Ebola incident manager, said a connection is possible. She emphasized that officials must compare the timing of their contact with the Nigerian patient's symptom onset to determine if infection occurred at the airport.

Experts remain divided on the airport theory. Marion Koopmans, a Dutch virologist on the WHO's Ebola emergency committee, described the hypothesis as very speculative without proof of shared space. Koopmans stated that random presence at a large airport does not constitute a supported epidemiological link based on current knowledge.

Nigeria's health minister Muhammad Ali Pate said the case remains contained. He stated that contact tracing is ongoing to prevent the virus from spreading into local communities. The minister emphasized the goal of keeping the infection isolated from the general public.

The outbreak is driven by the Bundibugyo virus, for which no approved treatment or vaccine exists. First announced on 15 May, the epidemic has infected more than 9,500 people. Nearly half of those infected have died. It stands as the largest outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo history. It is the second largest globally, following the 2014 to 2016 West Africa epidemic that infected over 28,600 people.