The World Health Organization has confirmed six new cases of Ebola found in Uganda, not long after the country reported its first fatality from the deadly contagious virus since 2019.
The new cases of Ebola were confirmed on Thursday September 22, including a 24-year-old man who died this week after he developed a high fever, diarrhea and abdominal pain, in addition to vomiting blood. After recently being treated for malaria, he was diagnosed as having contracted the Sudan strain of the Ebola virus.
Meanwhile, seven new deaths are investigated as suspected cases of a strain for which the authorities do not yet have a vaccine, officials said
The regional emergency director with the WHO Regional Office for Africa in the person of Abdou Salam Gueye said in a statement;
“So far, seven cases, including one death, have been confirmed to have contracted the Sudan ebolavirus.
“Forty-three contacts have been identified and 10 people suspected to have caught the virus are receiving treatment at the regional referral hospital in Mubende.
“Our experts are already on the ground working with Uganda’s experienced Ebola control teams to reinforce surveillance, diagnosis, treatment, and preventive measures.”
Ugandan authorities are yet to find the source of the outbreak, or “patient zero” – the key first case.
However, they were able to trace the source of the outbreak, which is the central Ugandan district of Mubende, whose main town lies along a highway into the capital, Kampala. That travel link and several crowded artisanal gold mines there are concerning, Bbosa told the World Health Organization.
Ebola, which is spread by contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person or contaminated materials, manifests as a deadly hemorrhagic fever. Symptoms include fever, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle pain and at times internal and external bleeding.
Uganda last reported an outbreak of the Ebola Sudan strain in 2012.
