Ebola Outbreak: Nigeria's First Case in Decade Traced to Uncertain Route
Swiss officials identify the patient as a diplomat's wife who likely contracted the virus in Uganda, contradicting earlier claims of travel to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
By Mariana Delgado ·
Nigeria has confirmed its first Ebola case in over ten years, marking the fourth African nation affected by the current outbreak.
The health crisis began on May 15, 2026, when the Democratic Republic of Congo reported initial cases of the rare Bundibugyo virus. By mid-year, the infection had spread to Uganda, where cases were recorded in May and June. The World Health Organization declared Uganda Ebola-free in August after a two-month period without new transmissions. In recent weeks, the virus moved into Kenya and subsequently reached Nigeria, making this the most geographically widespread Ebola outbreak on record.
On Friday, the Swiss foreign ministry stated that the Nigerian patient is the Ugandan-born wife of a Swiss diplomat stationed in Abuja. The ministry reported that she had not visited the Democratic Republic of Congo. Instead, officials believe she contracted the virus while traveling with her husband in Uganda. This account contradicts earlier statements from Ugandan authorities, who initially said the woman had traveled to eastern DR Congo. A Ugandan government spokesperson told Reuters on Thursday that Uganda currently has no Ebola cases and would publicize information if that changed.
Investigators are now examining a potential link to a recent case in Kenya. Dr. Wessam Mankoula, head of emergency preparedness at the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, noted that both the Nigerian patient and the Kenyan case traveled through Entebbe airport on October 3. Catherine Smallwood, a WHO Ebola incident manager, said at a UN briefing in Geneva that staff in DR Congo had no record of the patient traveling to that country. However, Marion Koopmans, a Dutch virologist on the WHO emergency committee, described the airport connection as very speculative without proof of shared space.
Nigeria's health minister, Muhammad Ali Pate, said the case is contained and contact tracing is ongoing. He stated that authorities are working to prevent the virus from spreading into local communities. The current outbreak has infected more than 9,500 people and killed nearly half of them. It is the deadliest in DR Congo's history and the second largest globally, following the 2014-16 west Africa epidemic which infected over 28,600 people and killed more than 11,000. No approved treatment or vaccine exists for the Bundibugyo virus.
Source: The Guardian
