Ebola patient and husband evacuated from Nigeria to Switzerland

A Swiss woman being treated for Ebola and her husband were evacuated from Nigeria to Switzerland, where she is receiving treatment in Geneva and he is isolated in Zurich, officials said Monday, October 26. The Swiss Federal Office of Public Health said the woman was admitted to Geneva University Hospital and her husband, identified as a close contact, to Zurich University Hospital. Both are Swiss citizens. The office said the hospitals are equipped to treat Ebola patients while protecting medical staff and other patients, and assessed that the situation posed no risk to Switzerland’s population. World Health Organization Regional Director for Africa Mohamed Janabi said Nigeria currently had no Ebola cases following the evacuation. He said Nigerian authorities would continue close follow-up of 52 contacts, while Switzerland would monitor the husband, identified as contact number 53, and take responsibility for the patient’s continued care. Nigeria’s health minister, Muhammad Ali Pate, said the patient was clinically stable and improving before the transfer. He cautioned that improvement did not establish that she was no longer infectious, and said strict public health protocols...