A 32-year-old nurse in Uganda has died from Ebola, marking the first fatality since the country's last outbreak ended in early 2023. The Sudan strain of the virus has been confirmed. Health authorities are actively tracing contacts and urging the public to report any suspected cases.
A 32-year-old male nurse employed at Mulago Hospital, Uganda 's main referral facility in Kampala, has died from Ebola , marking the first recorded fatality since the country's last outbreak ended in early 2023. Diana Atwine, permanent secretary of the health ministry , revealed the information to reporters on Thursday. The nurse, who initially developed a fever, was treated at several locations in Uganda before multiple laboratory tests confirmed his Ebola infection.
He passed away on Wednesday, and postmortem tests confirmed the presence of the Sudan strain of Ebola.At least 44 contacts of the deceased have been identified, including 30 health workers and patients from Mulago Hospital, according to the Uganda Ministry of Health. The health authorities assert they are 'in full control of the situation' and urge Ugandans to promptly report any suspected cases. Contact tracing is crucial in curbing the spread of Ebola, and there are currently no approved vaccines for the Sudan strain.Uganda's last Ebola outbreak, detected in September 2022, resulted in at least 55 fatalities before being declared over in January 2023. This latest Ebola confirmation in Uganda adds to a concerning trend of viral hemorrhagic fever outbreaks in the East African region. Tanzania recently declared an outbreak of the Ebola-like Marburg disease, while Rwanda announced the end of its own Marburg outbreak in December. The ongoing Marburg outbreak in northern Tanzania's Kagera region has claimed at least two lives according to local health authorities. The World Health Organization will allocate an initial $1 million from its contingency fund to support Uganda's response to the outbreak, as stated by Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO director-general, in a statement on the social platform X. A full-scale response is being initiated by the government and its partners.' Kampala's outbreak presents a unique challenge due to its highly mobile population of approximately 4 million. The deceased nurse sought treatment at a hospital outside Kampala and later traveled to Mbale, in eastern Uganda, where he was admitted to a public hospital. Health authorities reported that the man also consulted a traditional healer. Emmanuel Batiibwe, a physician who played a key role in Uganda's efforts to contain the 2022 outbreak, expressed confidence in a swift response to trace all possible Ebola contacts in Kampala and beyond. 'Our reaction should be swift, decisive, and well-coordinated,' he stressed, highlighting lessons learned from the 2022 outbreak, which originated in a central Ugandan town. 'We have the means to respond quickly now.'Ebola, transmitted through contact with bodily fluids of an infected person or contaminated materials, manifests as a deadly hemorrhagic fever. Symptoms include fever, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle pain, and sometimes internal and external bleeding. While the natural reservoir of Ebola remains unknown, scientists suspect the initial human infection in an outbreak arises from contact with an infected animal or consumption of its raw meat. Ugandan officials are diligently investigating the source of the current outbreak.Uganda has experienced multiple Ebola outbreaks, including one in 2000 that resulted in hundreds of deaths. The 2014-16 Ebola outbreak in West Africa claimed over 11,000 lives, marking the deadliest Ebola epidemic to date. Ebola was first identified in 1976 in two simultaneous outbreaks in South Sudan and Congo, where it appeared in a village near the Ebola River, giving the disease its name.
Ebola Uganda Outbreak Health Ministry Sudan Strain Contact Tracing WHO Response
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