After 114 days of tension emanating from the outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease -EBV, Uganda has been declared free from the pandemic. The country’s minister for health, Dr Jane Ruth Aceng, on Wednesday said no Ebola has been registered in the last 42 days despite sustained, intense surveillance both at the epicentre districts of Mubende and Kassanda as well nationwide.
“I now confirm that all transmission chains have been fully interrupted and take this opportunity to declare that the outbreak is over, and Uganda is now free of active Ebola transmission,” Dr Aceng said.
Uganda declared Ebola on September 20, 2022. The outbreak started in the Madudu sub-county, in Mubende District and by the time the ministry confirmed the Ebola Sudan outbreak, it had killed several people.
Ebola was identified after an adult male, who later died, was managed at Mubende Regional Referral Hospital, and confirmed to have been infected with Sudan Ebola virus disease. Prior to this outbreak, Uganda had registered seven previous Ebola outbreaks.
Since September last year, Uganda confirmed 143 confirmed cases of Ebola, with 22 probable cases, and 55 deaths. Out of the 143 confirmed cases, 59 per cent were males while the rest were females.
Although the Ebola outbreak started in Mubende district and was confirmed on September 19th, 2022, it spread to Kassanda, Kyegegwa, Kagadi, Bunyangabu, Wakiso, Jinja, Masaka, and Kampala districts.
“There was sustained transmission in both Kassanda, and Mubende districts making the two, the epicentre districts. The most affected district was Mubende, which is also the initial
epicentre district of this outbreak, with 64 confirmed cases, and 29 deaths, followed by Kassanda district with 49 confirmed cases and 21 deaths,” Dr Aceng explained.
Dr Aceng has urged Ugandans to remain vigilant and implement the standard operating procedures and report any person in the community that presents with Ebola-like symptoms among others sudden onset of fever, headache, weakness, joint pains, vomiting, bloody diarrhoea or urine, and bleeding from body openings.