Switzerland Says Ebola Patient in Nigeria Infected While in Uganda

Switzerland's foreign ministry said Friday that the Ugandan-born wife of a Swiss diplomat based in Abuja, confirmed as Nigeria's first Ebola patient in more than a decade, is believed to have contracted the virus while traveling in Uganda, not the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Guardian reported.

The ministry's account contradicts earlier information from Uganda, which had said the woman traveled to eastern DR Congo, where the current outbreak was first detected in mid-May before spreading to Uganda, Kenya and now Nigeria — the fourth country to record a case.

Why do Uganda and Switzerland disagree on the travel history?

A Ugandan government spokesperson told Reuters on Thursday that the country has no active Ebola cases and would disclose any if they existed, according to the Guardian's report. The World Health Organization declared Uganda Ebola-free in August after cases surfaced there in May and June. The conflicting accounts of where the Nigeria patient was infected have left health officials without a confirmed transmission chain.

What is the World Health Organization investigating?

Catherine Smallwood, a WHO Ebola incident manager in DR Congo, told a U.N. briefing in Geneva on Friday via video link that WHO staff in DR Congo have no information showing the Nigeria patient traveled there, the Guardian reported. The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention is examining whether the patient had contact with an Ebola case in Kenya, since both individuals flew out of Uganda's Entebbe airport on October 3, according to Dr. Wessam Mankoula, the agency's head of emergency preparedness and response.

How widespread is the outbreak now?

The outbreak that began in DR Congo in mid-May has reached Uganda, Kenya and Nigeria, making it, per the Guardian, the most geographically widespread Ebola outbreak in history.

Timeline

• Mid-May 2026: Outbreak first detected in DR Congo.
• May–June 2026: Cases reported in Uganda.
• August 2026: WHO declares Uganda Ebola-free.
• Oct. 3, 2026: Nigeria patient and a Kenya patient both depart Entebbe airport, Uganda.
• Oct. 23, 2026: Swiss foreign ministry confirms Nigeria patient's identity and says she was infected in Uganda, not DR Congo.

By the numbers

• 4 countries now linked to the outbreak: DR Congo, Uganda, Kenya and Nigeria.
• Oct. 3 is the shared travel date investigators are using to trace a possible link between the Nigeria and Kenya cases.

What happens next in the investigation?

WHO said investigations are continuing to establish the likely source of infection for the Nigeria patient, per the Guardian's reporting. Africa CDC's inquiry into the shared Entebbe airport departure date is expected to shape whether authorities treat the Nigeria and Kenya cases as linked or separate introductions of the virus.

What to watch

• Whether Africa CDC confirms a contact link between the Nigeria and Kenya patients from their Oct. 3 Entebbe departure.
• Whether Uganda revises its earlier statement on the patient's travel history.
• Additional WHO briefings in Geneva on contact tracing in Nigeria, Uganda and Kenya.