Uganda has completed the internationally required monitoring period for Ebola without detecting further infections, allowing global and regional health authorities to confirm that the outbreak has ended.
The country’s last imported patient was discharged on 16 July.
How the outbreak was contained
The outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo virus, was declared on 15 May.
Uganda recorded 20 confirmed cases, of which 15 were imported from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Five were locally acquired among contacts and health workers linked to imported cases.
Eighteen patients recovered and two died, while more than 800 contacts were identified and monitored.
The 42-day monitoring period is twice the maximum incubation period for Ebola and is the internationally recognised benchmark for determining that transmission linked to an outbreak has ended.
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention praised Uganda’s case detection, contact tracing, clinical care and strengthened surveillance at health facilities and border crossings.
Call to lift travel restrictions
Diana Atwine, permanent secretary at Uganda’s Ministry of Health, told national broadcaster NTV that authorities had assessed the transmission chain and were confident the country was free of Ebola, but the formal WHO monitoring process still had to be completed.
Atwine urged countries that imposed travel restrictions during the outbreak to lift them.
WHO also advises against suspending flights, closing borders or denying entry to travellers because of Ebola outbreaks.
Outbreak continues in DR Congo
Uganda shares an 877-kilometre border with the DRC, where the outbreak remains active.
More than 5,600 confirmed cases and 2,700 deaths have been recorded there since the outbreak was declared on 15 May. Health officials have described it as the fastest-spreading Ebola outbreak on record.
Uganda plans to open two additional Ebola treatment centres in the DRC, bringing the total number it operates there to four.
Source: Euronews
