East African countries announced the outbreak on January 30th following the death of a male nurse who tested positive for the virus.
Three months after the first case emerged in the capital Kampala, Uganda officially declared the end of its latest Ebola outbreak.
The Ministry of Health announced the milestone on Saturday via its official X account, calling it “good news,” confirming that 42 days after the last patient was discharged from the hospital had passed without a new infection.
“During this outbreak, 14 cases, 12 cases were confirmed, and two cases were not confirmed by clinical laboratory testing. [probable]was reported. Four deaths, two confirmed cases, two cases occurred. Ten people have recovered from the infection,” the World Health Organization said in a statement.
Chief Tedros Adhanom Gebrees praised Uganda’s Ministry of Health for its “leadership and commitment” in overcoming the outbreak. “Congratulations to the #Uganda government and healthcare workers for ending the #ebola outbreak,” he told X on Saturday.
Ebola infections occur frequently in Uganda, with many tropical forests, which are natural reservoirs of the virus.
The latest outbreak caused by the Sudanese strain of the virus was detected on January 30th this year, when a male nurse contracted the virus and died. There are no approved vaccines in the strain.
It was Uganda’s ninth outbreak since the country recorded its first infection in 2000.
Nearby to the Democratic Republic of the Congo – a country that has experienced more than 12 outbreaks, including one that killed nearly 2,300 people between 2018 and 2020 – Uganda remains extremely vulnerable to spreading disease.
The latest outbreak began in Kampala, a bustling city of 4 million people, and is a major transport hub connecting eastern DRC, Kenya, Rwanda and South Sudan. Health experts say Uganda has been able to take advantage of his years of experience fighting illness and get control relatively quickly.
Ebola spreads through contact with infected fluids and tissues, and can cause symptoms such as severe headaches, muscle pain, vomiting blood, and internal bleeding.
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