Uganda confirms one person dead in Ebola outbreak

A caregiver successful Uganda’s capital, Kampala, dies aft contracting the highly infectious haemorrhagic fever.

Uganda has confirmed an outbreak of the Ebola microorganism successful Kampala, its superior city, and the decease of a nurse, the Ministry of Health says.

The victim, who died connected Wednesday astatine a Kampala hospital, was a 32-year-old man, Diana Atwine, imperishable caput of the Health Ministry, told reporters connected Thursday.

He sought attraction astatine assorted facilities, including astatine a nationalist infirmary successful Mbale, 240km (150 miles) eastbound of Kampala adjacent the borderline with Kenya, she said.

“The diligent experienced multi-organ nonaccomplishment and succumbed to the unwellness astatine Mulago National Referral Hospital connected 29 January. Post-mortem samples confirmed the Sudan Ebola Virus Disease (strain),” the Health Ministry said successful a statement.

It is Uganda’s archetypal confirmed Ebola fatality since 2023.

At slightest 44 people, including 30 wellness workers, who came into interaction with the caregiver are being traced successful an effort to incorporate the imaginable dispersed of the highly contagious virus, the ministry said.

It added that a vaccination thrust for each contacts of the deceased volition statesman immediately.

Atwine said wellness authorities are “in afloat power of the situation”, urging Ugandans to study suspected cases.

An outbreak of Marburg, which is akin to Ebola, was declared successful neighbouring Tanzania past week.

Rwanda, which besides borders Uganda, has conscionable emerged from a Marburg outbreak.

A contact-tracing thrust whitethorn beryllium challenging due to the fact that Kampala is simply a crowded metropolis of much than 4 cardinal people. It is besides a bottleneck for postulation into South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and different countries.

Ebola, a highly infectious haemorrhagic fever, is transmitted done interaction with infected bodily fluids and tissues. Symptoms see headache, vomiting, musculus pains and bleeding.

In caller years, Ugandan authorities person utilized laboratory testing, interaction tracing and different techniques to bring Ebola outbreaks nether control.

Uganda past suffered an outbreak successful late 2022, which killed 55 of the 143 radical infected. The deceased included six wellness workers.

The East African federation has experienced 9 outbreaks of the viral illness since 2000.

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Al Jazeera and quality agencies