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Uganda’s Ebola outbreak has grown to 14 cases in the past week, with a new cluster traced to a 4-year-old child who recently died from the virus, Africa’s top public health agency reported Thursday.
Dr. Ngashi Ngongo of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) confirmed three new Ebola cases and two probable infections. He noted that this latest cluster has no direct epidemiological link to the previous nine cases, including the outbreak’s first victim.
Ebola is now spreading across five of Uganda’s 146 districts, including the capital, Kampala, where the outbreak was declared on January 30. Two deaths have been confirmed. However, concerns over transparency are growing as local health officials have not been providing regular updates. At least three hospitals in Kampala have treated confirmed or suspected cases without publicly disclosing them.
Dr. Charles Olaro, director of health services at Uganda’s Ministry of Health, insisted the situation was under control, stating that authorities are not required to report every case.
Tracing contacts remains critical in containing the outbreak, especially as no approved vaccines exist for the Sudan strain of Ebola currently circulating. The virus spreads through contact with bodily fluids or contaminated materials and causes severe hemorrhagic fever, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle pain, and, in some cases, internal and external bleeding. Scientists believe initial infections often stem from contact with infected animals or consuming raw meat. Ugandan officials are still investigating the source of this outbreak.
The first recorded victim was a male nurse who sought treatment at multiple facilities in Kampala and eastern Uganda, including from a traditional healer, before succumbing to the disease.
Uganda’s last Ebola outbreak, detected in September 2022, killed at least 55 people before it was declared over in January 2023. Dr. Emmanuel Batiibwe, a hospital director involved in past containment efforts, described the current outbreak as “amorphous,” with sporadic cases requiring heightened surveillance to trace and isolate contacts.
Ebola outbreaks have been increasing in East Africa. In January, Tanzania declared an outbreak of the Ebola-like Marburg virus, while Rwanda announced the end of its Marburg outbreak in December. Uganda has faced multiple Ebola outbreaks, including one in 2000 that killed hundreds. The deadliest Ebola epidemic occurred in West Africa between 2014 and 2016, claiming more than 11,000 lives.
Ebola was first identified in 1976 in simultaneous outbreaks in South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, where it was named after the Ebola River.
