The Federal Government has confirmed the evacuation of Nigeria’s first imported Ebola virus disease patient to Switzerland following significant clinical improvement.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, disclosed this in a statement posted on X on Monday. He said the patient departed Abuja early that morning with his approval.
According to Pate, the patient was stable, conscious and communicating, while laboratory test results were approaching baseline levels. However, he warned that the improvement did not necessarily mean she was no longer infectious.
The minister said strict public health protocols remained in place during the evacuation. He added that the patient travelled with her spouse, who was not showing symptoms of the disease.
Pate commended the medical personnel who treated the patient and the public health officials who coordinated the evacuation in line with established public health measures.
He said the government would provide further updates after receiving confirmation that the patient and her spouse had arrived safely at their destination. He also assured Nigerians that measures to contain the imported infection were continuing.
Earlier reports said the 42-year-old woman, reportedly the wife of a Swiss diplomat in Nigeria, was taken by an ambulance convoy to the private jet wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja for the medical evacuation. Airport officials reportedly secured the area as medical personnel prepared the aircraft for departure.
