Uganda Confirms Two More Ebola Cases, Total Reaches Seven

Uganda has detected two more confirmed cases of Ebola, bringing the total number of infections in the current outbreak in the country to seven, its health ministry said on Monday, Reuters reported. According to the ministry's statement, the two new cases are health workers in a private health facility in the capital Kampala and both are Ugandan nationals. The latest infections come after three confirmed cases were reported on Saturday, which had taken the total to five. Those earlier cases included a driver who transported the first confirmed patient, a health worker exposed while treating that patient, and a Congolese woman who later tested positive after initially travelling back to the Democratic Republic of Congo. Health authorities said all identified contacts are being closely monitored as part of ongoing efforts to trace and contain transmission chains, while infection control measures in health facilities have been strengthened. The outbreak involves the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola. The World Health Organization has declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern and warned that the risk of a national epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo remains “very high”. Nearly 750 suspected cases and 177 suspected deaths have been recorded in Congo, which remains the centre of the outbreak. The WHO has said delayed detection, the absence of a vaccine or virus-specific treatment for the Bundibugyo strain, widespread armed violence and high population mobility have made Congo especially vulnerable. Earlier, WHO Africa director Mohamed Yakub Janabi had also warned against underestimating the outbreak, saying it would be a “big mistake” to do so, particularly given the Bundibugyo strain for which there is no vaccine.