WHO and Swiss Contradict Uganda Over Source of Nigeria Ebola Infection

The Swiss government has stated that the Ebola patient diagnosed in Nigeria did not travel to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to Reuters.

The statement directly contradicts claims made by Ugandan authorities regarding the woman’s travel history.

The patient, a Swiss national and Ugandan-born wife of an Abuja-based Swiss diplomat, is believed to have contracted the virus while travelling with her husband in Uganda. The Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs initially shared her travel window on Thursday, despite the Ugandan government maintaining that there are currently no active cases within its borders.

During a UN briefing in Geneva on Friday, Catherine Smallwood, a World Health Organization (WHO) Ebola incident manager in the DRC, confirmed that local WHO staff found no evidence or records indicating the patient had visited Congo.

Smallwood noted that investigators are looking into a potential epidemiological link to a separate case in Kenya. However, health officials still need to evaluate the exact timeline of the patient’s symptom onset to determine whether the exposure occurred at an Ugandan airport or another location.

Uganda previously reported 20 Ebola cases throughout May and June, primarily driven by cross-border transmissions from the DRC. Following successful containment efforts, the WHO officially declared Uganda Ebola-free in August.