Omoyeni Ojeifo
Nigeria’s Ebola index patient and her spouse have departed Abuja for Switzerland following an improvement in the patient’s clinical condition, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, has confirmed.
“The evacuation took place earlier in the morning with my approval,”the minister disclosed in a post on his X handle on Monday.
“The patient was evacuated along with her spouse who has remained asymptomatic,” he stated.
According to the minister, the index patient was clinically much improved, stable, conscious, communicating, and her clinical laboratory test results closing towards baseline.
He, however, cautioned that the improvement did not mean the patient was no longer infectious, explaining that strict public health protocols remained in place during the evacuation.
Pate expressed appreciation to the clinical staff for providing quality care to the patient and public health personnel who ensured the evacuation complied with appropriate public health measures.
“I thank all the various clinical staff for the high quality care they provided the patient as well as the public health personnel who ensured the evacuation was carried out in line with best public health measures for such evacuations,” he stated.
He added that further updates would be provided later in the afternoon after the patient and her spouse arrived safely at their destination.
“All public health measures are continuing to ensure successful containment of the imported virus,” Pate stated, urging Nigerians to remain vigilant and rely on information from credible sources.
PerSecondNews recalls that Nigeria confirmed its first case of Ebola virus disease in the current outbreak on October 20, 2026, after laboratory tests returned positive for a woman who had travelled from Uganda.
The development prompted public health authorities to intensify surveillance, contact tracing and other containment measures to prevent further transmission.
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