The case marks the first since the outbreak of Ebola in Uganda three years ago
Uganda has reported an outbreak of Ebola following the death of a nurse from the virus in the capital Kampala.
The nurse, a 32-year-old man working at the Mulago National Referral Hospital in Kampala, sought treatment at several different healthcare facilities as well as with a traditional healer after developing fever-like symptoms, Uganda’s health ministry said.
The patient also visited a public hospital in Mbale, roughly 150 miles east of Kampala near the border with Kenya.
At least 44 people who came into contact with him are now being traced in an effort to contain the potential spread of the highly contagious virus, the ministry added.
“The patient experienced multi-organ failure and succumbed to the illness at Mulago National Referral Hospital on January 29,” the ministry said. “Post-mortem samples confirmed the Sudan Ebola Virus Disease (strain),” the ministry said in a statement, released by the ministry of Health Permanent Secretary Diana Atwine.
It is the first time that Uganda has reported a confirmed outbreak of Ebola since 2022, when at least 164 people were infected, leading to 55 deaths.
The Ebola strain responsible for both that outbreak and the most recent death is known as the Sudan strain. It is the most contagious but least deadly variant – although it still kills around 50 per cent of those it infects.
Vaccination against Ebola for all contacts of the deceased will begin immediately, Atwine stated .
