Nigeria’s first Ebola patient evacuated to Switzerland as contact tracing continues
publishers 43articles 57first reported 23 Oct, 10:14 UTCdeveloping since 23 Oct · 10 editions
A woman with Nigeria’s first confirmed Ebola case has been medically evacuated from Abuja to Switzerland, where she is receiving treatment at Geneva University Hospitals, Nigerian and Swiss authorities said. Her husband, a Swiss diplomat considered a close contact, was flown with her and placed in isolation at University Hospital Zurich.
The 42-year-old Ugandan-born woman, who lived in Abuja, tested positive for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola after returning from Uganda on October 3. Nigeria confirmed the case on October 20. Swiss authorities said she had not travelled to the Democratic Republic of Congo, where an outbreak involving the same strain began. Authorities are investigating whether the first reported Ebola cases in Kenya and Nigeria had any contact.
Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention Director-General Jide Idris said the transfer followed a formal Swiss Embassy request and was approved after consideration of diplomatic issues, the patient’s rights and international health regulations. He said infection-control measures were maintained from the hospital to the aircraft. The patient had tested positive twice but was stable enough to travel after Nigerian clinicians treated her for a deterioration that included multiple organ failure.
Nigeria has no active Ebola cases following the evacuation, according to the World Health Organization’s regional director for Africa. Nigerian authorities are continuing to monitor 52 identified contacts and investigate alerts, while Swiss authorities are responsible for the patient’s care and her husband’s follow-up.
HOW THIS STORY WAS MADE
Written from 8 articles, 3 with the publisher's own text; 7 independent newsrooms once syndicated copies count as one; this version written 88 h after the record first saw the story; the editor kept it as written.
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