KAMPALA, Uganda — On Tuesday, health officials announced that Uganda has officially discharged the last eight individuals who had recovered from the recent Ebola outbreak, which was declared last month. They confirmed that there are currently no additional positive cases associated with this outbreak.
The World Health Organization praised these recoveries as a significant achievement, emphasizing that it highlights the effectiveness of Uganda’s swift and coordinated efforts to tackle the situation.
The majority of those affected by the Ebola virus were treated at the primary referral hospital located in the capital city of Kampala. The first confirmed case was a male nurse who tragically passed away just a day before the outbreak was officially recognized on January 30. His family members were among those who subsequently required hospitalization for Ebola.
Health authorities underscored the importance of contact tracing in controlling the spread of Ebola, which is characterized as a viral hemorrhagic fever. Officials reported that they have identified at least 265 contacts of confirmed cases, with around 90 individuals having completed a monitoring quarantine period, as stated by Health Minister Jane Ruth Aceng.
Unfortunately, there are currently no licensed vaccines available to combat the Sudan strain of Ebola involved in this latest outbreak in Uganda. However, health authorities have initiated a clinical research study aimed at evaluating the safety and effectiveness of a trial vaccine as part of their comprehensive strategy to halt the virus’s transmission.
The most recent Ebola outbreak in Uganda, which commenced in September 2022, ultimately resulted in the deaths of at least 55 individuals before it was declared over four months later.
Ebola is transmitted through contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person or by coming into contact with contaminated materials. Symptoms commonly associated with the virus include fever, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle pain, and potentially both internal and external bleeding.
Researchers believe that the initial individual infected during an Ebola outbreak may become infected through contact with an infected animal or by consuming raw meat from such animals. The Ebola virus was first identified in 1976 during two simultaneous outbreaks in South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, near the Ebola River, which inspired the disease’s name.
