Geneva hospitals isolate Swiss Ebola patient after return from Nigeria
Wednesday 28th October 2026 on 11:15 in
Switzerland
A Swiss woman with Ebola is being treated at Geneva University Hospitals after being flown from Nigeria to Zurich on Monday, SRF reports. Virologist Isabella Eckerle says special transport and isolation procedures are designed to prevent the virus from spreading.
Special transport and isolation
Patients are not transported on a regular flight, Eckerle said. One option is to place them in a small tent with its own ventilation system, accompanied by a doctor. The patient is then moved in the tent to a special isolation room, where staff provide care in protective clothing.
Switzerland has two centres with special rooms and regularly trained teams for Ebola patients: Geneva University Hospitals and University Hospital Zurich. Eckerle said procedures are well established and pose no risk to staff, other patients or the public.
Treatment remains experimental
The current outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, a strain that is less familiar to researchers than the Zaire ebolavirus, which caused a major outbreak in West Africa. There is no specifically approved treatment or vaccine for Bundibugyo. Possible treatments include remdesivir, which inhibits viral replication, and monoclonal antibodies, but their use remains experimental.
Supportive care is also important, Eckerle said. Intensive care can help manage fluid and electrolyte levels and treat additional infections with antibiotics. She said Switzerland may have more resources for this kind of care than the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In Africa, clinical studies are comparing medicines; treatment in Switzerland is more likely to be experimental and outside such trials.
How Ebola spreads
Ebola is transmitted through direct contact with bodily fluids from symptomatic patients or infected animals, not through the air. Symptoms usually begin after an incubation period of two to 21 days and can include sudden fever, headache, muscle pain and weakness, followed by gastrointestinal illness. The disease can cause bleeding and organ failure. Its fatality rate varies by virus strain and access to care, reaching about 50 percent in some cases.