Government Confirms Ebola Outbreak in Kampala

Uganda has confirmed an outbreak of Sudan Ebola Virus Disease (SUDV) in the capital city of Kampala.

The announcement was made by the Ministry of Health on Thursday following positive tests from three National Reference Laboratories. 

“Our rapid response teams are fully deployed, contact tracing is underway, and all necessary measures are in place to contain the situation. We assure the public that we are in full control,” Health Ministry Permanent Secretary Dr. Diana Atwine told the press.

She explained that, “the confirmed case, designated as the index case, is a 32-year-old male nurse, an employee of Mulago National Referral Hospital who initially developed fever-like symptoms and sought treatment at multiple health facilities.”

The male nurse sought treatment at Mulago National Referral Hospital in Kampala, Saidina Abubakar Islamic Hospital in Matugga in Wakiso District, and Mbale Regional Referral Hospital in Mbale City, as well as from a traditional healer.

Atwine said the patient presented with a five-day history of high fever, chest pain, and difficulty in breathing, which later progressed to unexplained bleeding from multiple body sites.

This would be the 7th Sudan virus outbreak.

The last outbreak ended on 11th January 2023, with 164 cases (probable and confirmed) traced and 55 confirmed deaths, according to a paper Sudan Ebola virus (SUDV) outbreak in Uganda, 2022: lessons learnt and future priorities for sub-Saharan Africa by Dr Ambrose Talisuna et al. This was the sixth reported Ebola outbreak in Uganda since the first in 2000 where a cumulative total of 325 cases and 224 deaths were recorded.

News Agencies