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Humanitarian & health · Disease outbreak · Impact 3 Serious

Ebola patient in Nigeria is Swiss woman who did not visit DR Congo, Switzerland says

· Abuja, Nigeria · single source so far

Switzerland's foreign ministry says the Ebola patient in Nigeria is the wife of a Swiss diplomat and is believed to have caught the virus travelling in Uganda. This contradicts Uganda's earlier account that she had been in eastern DR Congo, raising concern about containment.

Location
Abuja, Nigeria · Nigeria live map
Coordinates
9.08°N 7.40°E
Reported
23 Oct 2026, 13:43 UTC
Category
Humanitarian & health · Disease outbreak
Impact
3 of 5 · Serious
Situation
Disease outbreaks
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▲ Escalating

Ebola spreads to a fourth country as Kenya reports a second death

On Friday, Kenya announced a second Ebola death, saying there is no evidence of community spread; the outbreak now spans four countries. Switzerland says the patient in Nigeria is a Swiss diplomat's wife who is believed to have been infected in Uganda, contradicting Uganda's earlier account. On Saturday, the WHO announced the start of a clinical trial of multiple Ebola vaccines in DR Congo. Separately, the CDC reported 4,588 US measles cases.

  • Officials say the Nigeria and Kenya Ebola patients both travelled through Entebbe airport on 3 October.
  • Nigeria's first case matches the Bundibugyo strain behind DR Congo's deadliest outbreak.
  • The CDC reported 178 more US measles cases, for 4,588 in total across at least 43 outbreaks.
  • California's flu test positivity is 9.65%, against a normal 1% for early October.
Updated 24 Oct 2026, 12:20 UTC · Written by Claude from the reports on this page and on the map. Check the linked sources for full details.

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