Ebola in Nigeria: Swiss Patient Evacuated to Geneva as Investigation Continues

Nigeria's confirmed Ebola patient, a Swiss woman, has been medically evacuated from Nigeria to Geneva, Reuters reported on 26 October 2026. The move came while investigators work to establish how she became infected.

Ebola is a serious viral disease. Nigeria confirmed the case on 20 October 2026 in the Federal Capital Territory, where the capital, Abuja, is located. The case is Ebola disease caused by the Bundibugyo virus, and the World Health Organization has described it as a laboratory-confirmed imported case.

According to Reuters, the patient sought treatment at a private hospital on 11 October 2026 for malaria-like symptoms and was tested for Ebola on 19 October. Reuters also reported that this was Nigeria's first Ebola case in over a decade. The patient was not tested for the virus until 13 days after falling ill, Reuters reported on 22 October.

Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya told Reuters that experts will travel to Nigeria to help investigate how the patient caught the virus. Investigators are examining the theory that she may have contracted it from Kenya's first confirmed Ebola patient. The Swiss government has said she did not travel to Congo.

The Federal Ministry of Health announced the confirmation on 20 October, and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control published an update on its response on 25 October. Separately, an Ebola outbreak was confirmed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in Uganda in May 2026.