Nigeria’s Ebola case sparks travel dispute, Switzerland denies patient visited Congo

The Swiss government has denied that the Ebola patient identified in Nigeria travelled to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), contradicting earlier claims by Ugandan authorities about her movements before she fell ill.

The dispute comes as health authorities investigate the source of Nigeria’s first Ebola case in more than a decade, with conflicting accounts emerging over where the woman may have contracted the virus.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) have also said they had not received confirmed information that the woman travelled to the DRC.

On Friday, the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs said the woman, described as the Ugandan-born wife of a Swiss diplomat based in Abuja, did not travel to the DRC with her husband, according to Reuters.

Ugandan government spokesperson Alan Kasujja told Reuters on Thursday that Uganda had no Ebola cases and that the government would make any new infections public.

Nigeria confirmed its first Ebola case in more than a decade on October 20, after laboratory tests detected the virus in a woman living in Abuja who had recently travelled to Uganda.

Health Minister Muhammad Ali Pate said the patient had been isolated and was receiving medical care, while authorities had identified 44 people who may have come into contact with her and begun contact tracing.

The woman reportedly developed symptoms on October 7 and sought medical attention on October 11, before testing positive for Ebola on October 20.

Nigeria’s case adds to the spread of the Ebola outbreak across four African countries: the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Uganda, Kenya and Nigeria.

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) put the death toll at about 4,700.

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) also activated enhanced Ebola screening and emergency response protocols at international airports nationwide in May to help identify and contain potential imported cases.

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