Swiss Ministry Claims Diplomat's Wife Caught Ebola in Uganda, Contradicting Local Officials

Nigeria has confirmed its first Ebola infection in more than a decade, a development that has intensified a public disagreement between Swiss and Ugandan officials over the origin of the virus.

The Swiss foreign ministry stated on Friday that the patient is the Ugandan-born wife of a Swiss diplomat stationed in Abuja. The ministry reported that the woman had not visited the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the outbreak began in mid-May. Instead, Swiss officials believe she contracted the virus while traveling with her husband in Uganda. This account directly conflicts with earlier statements from Ugandan authorities, who previously indicated the woman had traveled to eastern DR Congo.

Uganda declared itself free of Ebola in August after reporting cases in May and June. A Ugandan government spokesperson told Reuters on Thursday that the country had no active cases and would publicize any new information if it emerged. The World Health Organization is continuing investigations into the source of the Nigerian infection. Catherine Smallwood, a WHO Ebola incident manager in DR Congo, stated during a UN briefing that WHO staff in the region had no information suggesting the patient had traveled to that country.

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention is examining a potential link to a Kenyan case. Dr. Wessam Mankoula, the organization's head of emergency preparedness and response, noted that both the Nigerian patient and the Kenyan case traveled through Uganda's Entebbe airport on October 3. Smallwood said this link is possible but requires a comparison of timing with the onset of the Nigerian patient's symptoms to determine if infection occurred at the airport or elsewhere.

Marion Koopmans, a Dutch virologist and member of the WHO's Ebola emergency committee, expressed skepticism about the airport connection. She described the theory as highly speculative without evidence of shared space that would explain transmission. Koopmans added that random presence at a large airport does not meet standard epidemiological criteria for a supported link.

Nigeria's health minister, Muhammad Ali Pate, said the case is contained and contact tracing is ongoing. He stated that officials are working to prevent the virus from spreading to surrounding communities. The outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, for which no approved treatment or vaccine exists.

Announced on May 15, the current outbreak has infected more than 9,500 people and killed nearly half of them. It is the largest and deadliest outbreak in DR Congo's history and the second largest globally, behind the 2014-16 west Africa epidemic, which infected more than 28,600 people and killed more than 11,000.