Uganda has announced the official end to an Ebola outbreak which emerged in the country following a case detected three months ago in Kampala.
“Good news!” the Ministry of Health announced on X. Since the last confirmed patient was discharged in March, the country has gone 42 days without detecting any new cases of infection.
According to the World Health Organization, the latest Ebola outbreak, detected in January, is of the Sudan virus disease (SVD) subtype. This severe strain reportedly killed four out of 10 people infected in past outbreaks. Laboratory results (probable) reported 12 confirmed cases and two unconfirmed cases during the duration of the epidemic. Four deaths, “two confirmed and two probable,” occurred, while ten people reportedly recovered from the infection. Cases were closely monitored following reports that over 500 people had been in contact with confirmed and probable instances.
There is no report of an approved vaccine. However, the World Health Organization stated, “Within four days of the government’s declaration of the outbreak, a randomized clinical trial for vaccine safety and efficacy using the ring vaccination approach was launched. In addition, the administration of Remdesivir treatment under the Monitored Emergency Use of Unregistered and Experimental Interventions (MEURI) protocol was initiated.”
The latest Ebola outbreak has presented new challenges for Ugandan health workers, according to Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, the acting Regional Director for Africa at the World Health Organization.
“It touched both urban and rural communities across the country and unfolded against the backdrop of significant global funding constraints,” said Ihekweazu.
Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, congratulated the Ugandan government and health workers who contributed to ending the Ebola outbreak in under four months. “We thank donors & partners for swiftly mobilizing resources, & vaccine developers for making candidate vaccines available in record time,” Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on X.
The Ministry of Health, WHO, and partners will continue to invest in surveillance, survivor care, and preparedness to ensure safety within Uganda.
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