Nigeria's Ebola patient flown to Switzerland as Africa CDC sends scientists to trace her infection

A Rega air ambulance flew the patient from Abuja to Zurich on Monday, Swiss news agency Keystone-SDA reported, and the University Hospital of Zurich said it had admitted a person with suspected Ebola. Nigerian Health Minister Muhammad Ali Pate said her condition had improved and she was stable, but cautioned that she may still be infectious. Her husband, who has no symptoms, traveled with her. Nigerian authorities have identified 53 close contacts.

Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya told Reuters that a team led by Ebola co-discoverer Jean-Jacques Muyembe will travel to Abuja to work out how she caught the Bundibugyo virus. Her travel documents show she did not visit Congo, the center of the outbreak, he said. Genomic sequencing showed her virus was closely related to that of Kenya's first patient, though Kaseya said that does not mean one infected the other.

Why it matters: An unexplained source of infection raises the possibility of undetected spread. The outbreak has caused almost 10,000 cases in Congo, and there is no approved vaccine or treatment for the Bundibugyo species, Reuters reported.