Nigeria’s first imported Ebola virus disease patient has been evacuated from Abuja to Switzerland for further medical care after showing significant clinical improvement, the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, has announced.

Pate disclosed the development in a statement posted on his official X account on Monday, October 26, 2026, confirming that the patient departed Nigeria earlier in the morning with his approval.

According to the minister, the patient was clinically much improved, stable, conscious and able to communicate at the time of evacuation. Her laboratory test results were also approaching baseline levels.

However, Pate cautioned that the improvement did not necessarily mean the patient was no longer infectious, stressing that strict infection prevention and control protocols remained in place throughout the evacuation.

The patient was accompanied by her spouse, who has remained asymptomatic, the minister said.

Pate commended the clinical personnel who provided care for the patient and the public health teams responsible for coordinating the evacuation in accordance with established public health safety measures.

He added that the government would provide further updates after the patient and her spouse arrived safely at their destination.

The minister also assured Nigerians that public health measures were continuing to contain the imported virus and urged citizens to remain vigilant and obtain information from credible sources.

The evacuation comes amid heightened public health attention surrounding the reported Ebola case. Ebola virus disease is a severe, often fatal illness that spreads through direct contact with the blood or bodily fluids of an infected person who is symptomatic, or with contaminated materials. Patients may require specialised supportive care and strict isolation measures to prevent transmission.

Health authorities typically rely on rapid case identification, contact tracing, infection prevention and control, laboratory testing and public communication to limit the spread of the disease.

The evacuation followed Nigeria’s confirmation on October 20 of an imported case of Bundibugyo Ebola virus disease, a strain of Ebola. The patient, a 42-year-old woman with a recent travel history to Uganda, developed symptoms on October 7, four days after arriving in Nigeria.

As of October 25, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) had identified 53 contacts linked to the case, including healthcare workers, domestic staff and the patient’s spouse. The agency has continued contact tracing and monitoring as part of efforts to prevent further transmission.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified the Bundibugyo strain as part of a wider outbreak affecting several African countries. The strain presents particular challenges because there is no approved vaccine or specific treatment for it, making early detection, supportive medical care and infection control especially important.