Health
Uganda now declared Ebola free!
Uganda has been officially declared Ebola-free. The outbreak of the Sudan Ebola virus Disease was the country’s eighth, and affected at least 14 people, of which four individuals succumbed to the disease.
Of the four, two were laboratory confirmed, and the other two were probable deaths. Speaking in Mbale on Saturday at an event attended by officials from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNICEF among others, Health minister Dr Jane Ruth Aceng said the last positive case had been discharged on March 14, 2025.
Following a 42-day countdown since the last case, the outbreak which was announced at the end of January when a 32-year-old nurse succumbed to the disease at Mulago National Referral Hospital is now officially over.
The cases were recorded in seven districts and three cities, and according to Aceng, the key lesson learnt from the current outbreak is for individuals to avoid movement whenever they suspect having contracted an unclear infection.
The first confirmed case had moved to several districts, including Mbale where he visited a traditional healer, Kampala, Mukono and Wakiso districts. The second confirmed death of a child also went through related circumstances, whereby he was treated at various health facilities in Kampala, including Mulago hospital, but health workers did not suspect or think of testing him for Ebola until he died.
This child had lost a mother and a sibling earlier. These cases were contacts of confirmed cases in Fort Portal city, Kyegegwa and Ntoroko districts.
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