Ebola Outbreak Confirmed in Uganda’s Capital Following Nurse’s Death
Uganda has confirmed an outbreak of the Ebola virus in its capital city, Kampala, following the death of a 32-year-old nurse, Al Jazeera reports.
The Ministry of Health announced the news on Thursday, marking the country’s first confirmed Ebola fatality since 2023.
According to Diana Atwine, the permanent secretary of the Health Ministry, the nurse died on Wednesday at Mulago National Referral Hospital in Kampala.
“The patient experienced multi-organ failure and succumbed to the illness on 29 January. Post-mortem samples confirmed the Sudan Ebola Virus Disease (strain),” the Health Ministry stated.
The nurse had reportedly sought treatment at various facilities, including a public hospital in Mbale, located 150 miles east of Kampala, near the Kenyan border.
Health officials are now racing to trace at least 44 people, including 30 health workers, who came into contact with the deceased nurse, in a bid to contain the spread of the highly contagious virus. A vaccination drive for all contacts will begin immediately, the ministry said.
The outbreak in Kampala is particularly concerning due to the city’s high population density of over 4 million people. Kampala also serves as a major transportation hub, with traffic flowing into neighboring South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Rwanda, raising concerns about potential cross-border transmission.
Ebola is a highly infectious haemorrhagic fever transmitted through contact with infected bodily fluids and tissues. Symptoms include headache, vomiting, muscle pains and bleeding.
The news comes amid growing regional concerns about infectious disease outbreaks. Last week, neighboring Tanzania declared an outbreak of Marburg, a virus similar to Ebola. Rwanda, which also shares a border with Uganda, recently emerged from its own Marburg outbreak.
Uganda has experienced nine Ebola outbreaks since 2000, and authorities have utilized laboratory testing, contact tracing, and other techniques to bring them under control. The last major outbreak in late 2022 claimed 55 lives out of 143 infected, including six health workers.
