Uganda confirms outbreak of Ebola in the capital Kampala, one dead
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A bottle of the Ebola vaccine Ervebo is pictured in Freetown on Dec 5, 2024.
PPHOTO: AFP
KAMPALA - Uganda has confirmed an outbreak of Ebola virus disease in the capital Kampala, with the first confirmed patient dying from the disease on Jan 29, the health ministry has said.
The patient, a nurse at the Mulago referral hospital in the capital, had initially sought treatment at various facilities, including Mulago, after developing fever-like symptoms.
“The patient experienced multi-organ failure and succumbed to the illness at Mulago National Referral Hospital on Jan 29. Post-mortem samples confirmed Sudan Ebola Virus Disease (strain),” the ministry said on Jan 30.
The highly infectious hemorrhagic fever is transmitted through contact with infected bodily fluids and tissue. Symptoms include headache, vomiting blood, muscle pains and bleeding.
Uganda last suffered an outbreak in late 2022 and that outbreak was declared over on Jan 11, 2023, after nearly four-months in which it struggled to contain the viral infection.
The last outbreak killed 55 of the 143 people infected and the dead included six health workers. REUTERS
