KAMPALA, Uganda — Health officials have reported an increase in Ebola cases in Uganda, which have now reached nine. Additionally, 265 individuals are currently under quarantine as authorities continue their monitoring efforts. The announced figures come as the country grapples with the implications of this outbreak, first identified on January 30.
Among the nine confirmed cases is the very first victim, a male nurse who passed away shortly before the outbreak was officially recognized. To date, he remains the only fatality linked to this incident. The Health Ministry has stated that the other eight patients currently receiving treatment are in stable condition. Seven of these individuals have been admitted to the primary public hospital located in the capital city, Kampala, while one patient is being treated in the eastern district of Mbale. Health authorities have assured that “the situation is under control” as they implement increased surveillance measures.
The nurse who tragically passed away initially sought medical assistance in Kampala before traveling to Mbale, where he was eventually hospitalized. Reports indicate that he also consulted a traditional healer during the course of his illness. Some of the nurse’s family members are also among those who have contracted the virus and are currently being treated for Ebola. With Kampala’s population exceeding 4 million, the search for the outbreak’s source remains ongoing.
Contact tracing is considered crucial in preventing further transmission of Ebola, which presents as viral hemorrhagic fever. Currently, there are no authorized vaccines for the Sudan strain of Ebola that is spreading in Uganda. In response, health authorities have initiated a clinical study aimed at testing the safety and effectiveness of a trial vaccine to help combat this outbreak.
The most recent Ebola outbreak in Uganda began in September 2022, resulting in the deaths of at least 55 individuals before being officially declared over four months later. Ebola is transmitted through direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person or through exposure to contaminated materials. Symptoms typically include fever, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle pain, and in some cases, both internal and external bleeding.
Experts believe that the initial person infected in an Ebola outbreak likely contracted the virus after coming into contact with an infected animal or consuming its raw meat. The Ebola virus was first identified during two concurrent outbreaks in South Sudan and Congo in 1976, occurring in a village situated near the river that lent its name to the disease.
