World Health Organisation (WHO) has said Nigeria currently has no active Ebola case following the evacuation of the country’s index patient and her husband to Switzerland.
Gatekeepers News reports that Mohamed Janabi, WHO Regional Director for Africa, disclosed this in a post on his official X account on Monday, October 26, 2026.
Janabi said the patient, a 42-year-old woman diagnosed with the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola virus disease, was clinically stable after Nigerian medical personnel managed her through the acute phase of the illness.
“Both the patient and her husband are Swiss citizens,” he said.
“With the evacuation of the patient and her husband, Nigeria currently has no Ebola cases.”
He added that Nigeria would continue monitoring 52 contacts linked to the patient, while Switzerland would take responsibility for her continued treatment and the follow-up of her husband, who was identified as contact number 53.
Janabi commended the Nigerian government, health workers, clinicians and emergency responders involved in managing the case.
Earlier on Monday, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, confirmed that the patient had departed Abuja for Switzerland for further treatment.
Pate said the woman was clinically improved, stable, conscious and communicating, while her laboratory results were moving towards normal levels. He also stated that her husband remained asymptomatic.
Nigeria confirmed its first Ebola case in more than a decade on October 20, 2026, after laboratory tests detected the Bundibugyo virus in the woman, who had recently travelled to Nigeria from Uganda.
The development prompted health authorities to intensify surveillance, contact tracing and other containment measures to prevent further transmission.
According to Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), 53 contacts linked to the confirmed case had been identified for monitoring as of October 24.
Although the evacuation means Nigeria currently has no active Ebola case, health authorities have maintained surveillance and contact tracing as part of efforts to prevent further infections.
