Uganda has announced the discharge of the final eight patients recovering from an Ebola outbreak that was declared last month, according to health authorities on Tuesday.
The World Health Organization has hailed these recoveries as a significant achievement, highlighting Uganda’s rapid response to the outbreak.
The majority of Ebola patients received treatment at the primary referral center located in the capital city, Kampala.
The sole death associated with this outbreak was a male nurse who passed away just one day prior to the outbreak’s declaration on January 30. His family members were subsequently among those hospitalized with the virus.
Ugandan officials have identified at least 265 individuals who were in contact with the initial case.
Health Minister Jane Ruth Aceng informed reporters in Kampala that at least 90 of these contacts have successfully completed a quarantine period during which they were monitored for Ebola symptoms.
Currently, there are no approved vaccines for the Sudan strain of Ebola, which has been prevalent in this recent outbreak in Uganda.
However, health authorities have initiated a clinical trial to assess the safety and effectiveness of a potential vaccine as part of their efforts to curb the virus’s spread.
The previous Ebola outbreak in Uganda, which started in September 2022, resulted in at least 55 fatalities before it was declared over four months later.
Ebola is transmitted through contact with the bodily fluids of infected individuals or contaminated materials. Symptoms include fever, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle pain, and, in some cases, both internal and external bleeding.
