Uganda’s Ministry of Health has confirmed on Wednesday an Ebola outbreak in Kasese District.
Three cases of Ebola have been confirmed so far among them a 5 year old boy who died yesterday after he had been admitted and isolated at Bwera Hospital Ebola Treatment Unit .
He was with 5 other family members who crossed over from Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) into Uganda on Monday night.
This morning the ministry confirmed two more cases including a 50 year old grandmother and brother to the 5 year old.
“So far we have three confirmed cases here in the Ebola Treatment Unit (Bwera Hospital). The five-year-old who tested positive first, who passed away at 9.30pm last night; right now his grandmother and his younger brother three-year-old, have also tested positive. Bringing us to a total of three confirmed cases” – Dr. Aceng Ruth Jane, Minister of Health.
According to the ministry of health eight contacts with the Ebola cases have been line listed and are currently being followed up.
Dr Aceng says in order to contain the Ebola outbreak, Government of Uganda working with Partners like World Health Organisation (WHO) are in Kasese District to assess and evaluate the situation on ground.
She says Rapid Response Teams are undertaking contact tracing, case management including safe and dignified burial, surveillance, risk communication and psychosocial support.
The Ministry of Health and WHO will also undertake ring vaccination of contacts to the case and other non-vaccinated frontline health and other workers beginning Friday 14th June 2019.
The outbreak comes at a time Uganda’s neigbour DRC is battling an Ebola outbreak that has been on since August 2018.
Ebola, a hemorrhagic fever is a highly infectious virus that causes fever, body aches, and diarrhea, and sometimes bleeding inside and outside the body.
CN/abj/APA