Ebola Patient in Nigeria Is Wife of Swiss Embassy Staffer, Bem
The woman who tested positive for Ebola in Nigeria is a Swiss national and the wife of a staff member of the Swiss Embassy in Abuja, the Swiss government has confirmed.
The Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs disclosed this on Friday, saying the woman and her husband had recently travelled to Uganda, where she is believed to have contracted the virus. 
The ministry said neither the woman nor her husband had travelled to the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the current Ebola outbreak was first detected.
Nigeria announced its first recorded Ebola case on Tuesday after the woman, who arrived in Abuja on a flight from Uganda, tested positive for the virus.
Health authorities have identified 44 contacts linked to the case and commenced monitoring as part of efforts to prevent further transmission.
The patient was subsequently confirmed to have the Bundibugyo species of Ebola, the strain responsible for the current outbreak. There are currently no specific vaccines or approved treatments for the strain.
In a statement on Friday, the Swiss foreign ministry said the woman had been symptomatic and had spent about a week receiving treatment at a private clinic in Abuja.
It said the infection was believed to have occurred during her trip to Uganda about two weeks ago.
Her husband, also a Swiss national, has been placed in isolation but has not developed any symptoms.
“He accompanied his wife on the trip, during which she is believed to have contracted the Ebola virus. Neither individual travelled” to the Democratic Republic of Congo, the ministry said.
The Swiss government added that all 25 employees at its Abuja embassy — eight Swiss nationals and 17 local staff — were in good health.
It said, following consultations with Nigeria’s Ministry of Health and the World Health Organisation, the embassy staff did not need to be placed in isolation.
Switzerland is also considering repatriating the patient for further treatment, according to the ministry.
Nigeria has now become the fourth African country affected by the current Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak, following the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and Kenya.
The outbreak was first detected in northeastern DR Congo in May before spreading to neighbouring Uganda, where 20 confirmed cases, including two deaths, were recorded before the outbreak was declared over in August.
According to the World Health Organisation, the epidemic had recorded more than 9,700 confirmed cases and 4,690 deaths as of October 20.
