Uganda Ebola cases rise to five as WHO raises national risk assessment
The World Health Organization has upgraded the risk level for the Bundibugyo strain to “very high” at the national level as Uganda intensifies contact tracing and transport restrictions.
Uganda’s Ministry of Health has confirmed three new cases of Ebola, raising the national total to five. The update follows a revision by the World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday, which elevated the risk assessment for the Bundibugyo strain to “very high” at the national level, “high” at the regional level, and “low” at the global level.
The newly identified cases include a driver who transported the country’s first confirmed patient, a health worker exposed during care, and a woman from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Both the driver and the health worker are currently receiving treatment and were identified among known contacts, according to a statement from the Health Ministry.
The third case involves a woman from the DRC who entered Uganda with mild abdominal symptoms. She travelled from Arua, near the border, to Entebbe before seeking care at a private hospital in Kampala. Although she initially improved and returned to the DRC, she later tested positive following a tip-off from a pilot involved in her transport.
Authorities have intensified contact tracing and are closely monitoring all individuals linked to the confirmed cases. Uganda had previously suspended public transport to the DRC on Thursday after confirming two earlier cases involving Congolese nationals who crossed the border, resulting in one infection and one death.
The outbreak is centred in the DRC, where nearly 750 suspected cases and 177 suspected deaths have been recorded. The WHO cited late detection, the absence of a vaccine or virus-specific therapeutics, widespread armed violence, and high population mobility as factors making the DRC especially vulnerable. First responders in the DRC report a lack of basic supplies, attributed in part to foreign aid cuts by major international donors.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged authorities to maintain high vigilance to control the expansion of the virus. He confirmed that the WHO is working with the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and partners in the DRC and Uganda to contain the outbreak and support affected populations.
