The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has explained that Nigeria’s decision to evacuate its confirmed Ebola patient to Switzerland was based on diplomatic considerations, the patient’s rights and international health regulations.
NCDC Director-General, Dr Jide Idris, said the Federal Government approved the medical evacuation after consultations with the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, and assurances that strict infection-prevention measures would be maintained throughout the journey.
The patient, a Swiss citizen and wife of a Swiss diplomat based in Abuja, was evacuated alongside her husband on Monday aboard a medical evacuation aircraft. She is currently receiving treatment at Geneva University Hospitals, while her husband, who is a close contact but has no symptoms, is being monitored in isolation at University Hospital Zurich.
Idris dismissed suggestions that the patient was secretly taken out of Nigeria, saying the evacuation followed a formal request from the Swiss Embassy.
He explained that Nigerian authorities considered public health implications, international health regulations and the patient’s rights before granting approval for the transfer.
The NCDC chief also stressed that the patient remained Ebola-positive at the time of evacuation. He said she had tested positive twice and that an improvement in her clinical condition did not necessarily mean she had cleared the virus.
According to Idris, the patient had initially become critically ill, with her condition deteriorating to the point of multiple organ failure, before Nigerian medical teams stabilised her.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said the evacuation was also appropriate because both the patient and her husband are Swiss citizens and the patient had become clinically stable after Nigerian health workers successfully managed the acute phase of her illness. Switzerland has now assumed responsibility for her continued treatment.
Following the evacuation, Nigeria currently has no known active Ebola case. However, health authorities are continuing surveillance and monitoring of 52 contacts linked to the patient, while Switzerland is following up with her husband, who was the 53rd contact previously identified by Nigerian authorities.
Nigeria confirmed its first Ebola case in more than a decade on October 20 after laboratory testing detected the Bundibugyo strain in the patient, who had travelled to Nigeria from Uganda earlier in October.
The NCDC has urged Nigerians to remain vigilant, maintain good hand hygiene and rely only on verified information from public health authorities as contact tracing and surveillance continue.
Idris also cautioned against using herbal mixtures as a means of preventing or treating Ebola, stressing that there is no established evidence that such preparations can cure the disease.