Swiss woman recovers from Ebola after evacuation from Nigeria

Medical personnel at Geneva University Hospitals discharged a Swiss woman who recovered from Ebola virus disease.

The woman, who was born in Uganda, was evacuated from Nigeria to Switzerland in late October. She tested positive for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola after developing symptoms in Abuja following a two-week holiday in Uganda. Her husband, a Swiss diplomat, accompanied her during the evacuation for treatment in Geneva.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention identified 62 contacts following her positive test. As of November 11, health officials reported that 10 of those contacts remained under monitoring while 52 had finished the required surveillance period. The agency confirmed that no additional cases or deaths have occurred in Nigeria since the imported infection was detected. Experts continue to investigate how the woman contracted the virus.

The Bundibugyo strain is a rare type of Ebola for which no specific treatments or approved vaccines currently exist. The outbreak has spread across Africa, with the Democratic Republic of the Congo recording over 11,000 confirmed cases. Nigeria could be declared free of the outbreak by December 7 if no new cases appear during the final stages of the World Health Organisation countdown.