The Swiss government has denied reports that the Ugandan-born wife of a Swiss diplomat based in Abuja, Nigeria, travelled to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), contradicting claims by Ugandan authorities regarding the possible origin of her Ebola infection.
According to Reuters, the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs clarified in a statement on Friday that the woman and her husband had not travelled to DR Congo, where an Ebola outbreak declared in mid-May has become the fastest-spreading on record.
The clarification followed an earlier statement by the Swiss foreign ministry to Reuters on Thursday indicating that the woman, whom it identified as a Swiss national, was believed to have contracted the virus while travelling with her husband in Uganda. However, Ugandan authorities have maintained that the country currently has no Ebola cases.
Ugandan officials had previously claimed that the woman, who fell ill in Nigeria, had travelled to eastern DR Congo, where the outbreak has continued to spread.
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said on Thursday that they had not received confirmed information establishing that the woman had visited DR Congo.
The conflicting accounts have raised questions about the circumstances surrounding the infection and the possible route through which the virus reached Nigeria.
Uganda recorded 20 Ebola cases in May and June, most of which were imported from DR Congo. However, the WHO declared the country Ebola-free in August.
Ugandan government spokesperson Alan Kasujja told Reuters on Thursday that Uganda had no active Ebola cases, adding that the government would make such information public if any new infections were detected.
The case in Nigeria is the country’s first Ebola infection in more than a decade and marks a significant development in the regional outbreak.
According to the Africa CDC, the outbreak has spread across four African countries: DR Congo, Uganda, Kenya and Nigeria. The outbreak has reportedly killed approximately 4,700 people, according to the agency.
The conflicting accounts over the patient’s travel history underscore the importance of verified information in tracing the source of infections and coordinating public health responses across affected countries.
