The search for the source of Nigeria’s latest Ebola infection has taken an international turn following confirmation that the patient is the wife of a Swiss diplomat resident in Abuja.
The 42-year-old Ugandan-born woman tested positive on October 20, triggering investigations into her movements, possible exposure and contacts before her diagnosis.
Her case is Nigeria’s first confirmed Ebola infection in more than a decade, raising fresh concerns over the circumstances surrounding the virus’s reappearance.
Swiss authorities disclosed that the woman and her husband travelled to Uganda earlier this month. Her husband is currently in isolation but has shown no symptoms.
The patient reportedly spent about a week receiving treatment at a private clinic in Abuja before tests confirmed the infection.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said she was being treated in isolation and her condition was improving.
However, the central question remains unanswered: where did she contract the virus?
The woman returned to Nigeria on October 3 after spending approximately two and a half weeks in Uganda. Yet, investigators have not established the location or circumstances of her exposure.
The uncertainty has been compounded by conflicting accounts of whether she travelled to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo).
Ugandan officials had earlier claimed she visited eastern DR Congo for business. Switzerland’s foreign ministry, however, told Reuters that she had not travelled to the country.
The WHO, Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and Nigeria’s health ministry said they had received no verified information confirming that she visited DR Congo.
The WHO said available evidence was insufficient to determine where the infection occurred.
Investigators are also exploring a possible link between the woman and a Kenyan man who died from Ebola after travelling through Uganda’s main airport on the same day.
According to the Africa CDC, officials are examining whether the two patients could have been exposed through shared equipment or other forms of contact. No connection has been established.
Tracing the woman’s movements has proved difficult, with the WHO saying investigators had limited opportunities to interview her while she remained in hospital.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention is conducting genomic sequencing to determine whether the infection is linked to other cases.
The virus has been identified as the Bundibugyo strain, which is also responsible for the ongoing outbreak in DR Congo.
Despite the patient’s journey through Uganda, the country maintains that it has no confirmed active Ebola cases, insisting that transit through its territory does not establish where the infection was acquired.
In Switzerland, the foreign ministry said all 25 employees at its embassy in Nigeria, including eight Swiss nationals and 17 Nigerian staff, were in good health and did not need to isolate.
The decision followed consultations with Nigeria’s Ministry of Health and the WHO. The embassy remains open under precautionary health measures.
As investigations continue, health authorities face the task of establishing the infection’s origin, identifying possible transmission links and tracing people who may have been exposed.
For now, the patient’s diagnosis is confirmed, but the route through which the virus reached her remains unresolved.
