Uganda’s Ministry of Health has confirmed an outbreak of Ebola in the capital, Kampala, following the death of a nurse at Mulago Hospital.
The 32-year-old male nurse, the first recorded case in this outbreak, died on Wednesday after testing positive for the Sudan strain of the virus.
Health ministry official Diana Atwine revealed that the nurse initially developed a fever and sought treatment at different health facilities before multiple laboratory tests confirmed he had contracted Ebola. Postmortem tests further identified the Sudan strain, which has no approved vaccine.
Authorities have identified at least 44 people who had contact with the victim, including 30 health workers and patients at Mulago Hospital.
The government is now tracing contacts and monitoring those at risk to contain the spread of the virus. Atwine assured the public that health officials are managing the situation and urged people to report any suspected cases.
Uganda’s last Ebola outbreak, which began in September 2022, resulted in at least 55 deaths before being declared over in January 2023.
The confirmation of this new case comes as East Africa continues to battle outbreaks of viral haemorrhagic fevers.
Tanzania is currently dealing with an outbreak of the Marburg virus, a disease similar to Ebola, while Rwanda only recently declared an end to its own Marburg outbreak in December.
Ebola spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids of infected individuals or contaminated materials.
Symptoms include fever, vomiting, diarrhoea, muscle pain, and, in severe cases, internal and external bleeding.
Scientists are still uncertain about the virus’s natural reservoir, though it is believed that outbreaks often start when humans come into contact with infected animals. Ugandan health officials are currently investigating the source of this outbreak.
