KAMPALA, UGANDA: The Minister of Health has confirmed nine new Ebola cases in Kampala rising the total number of patients to 14 in the capital.
Health Minister, Dr Jane Ruth Aceng confirmed the development in a Tweet on Monday morning saying the nine new cases under quarantine at Mulago hospital, are contacts of the original cases from Kassanda District.
“The nine cases are contacts of the fatal case who came from Kassanda District and passed on in Mulago Hospital,” Dr Aceng said.
The latest development means the cumulative confirmed cases of EBola are now 84 in the country as of Monday, October 24, 2022.
The information also indicates that there have been 28 confirmed cumulative deaths, and 26 recoveries since the first Ebola case was confirmed in the country on September 19.
In addition, the contacts listed for follow-up stand at 1,746 people, and 19 active cases on admission.
Dr Aceng’s announcement comes just hours after she on Sunday said that Kampala had five cases after two more people from the Mulago isolation unit had been confirmed and these had been transferred to the Entebbe Ebola Treatment Unit.
Meanwhile, Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) has established a toll free number 0800299000 and WhatsApp numbers, 0708970194 and 0776140454 that can be used to report any suspected cases of Ebola or seek for information related to Ebola.
The authority has also procured a fleet of ambulances to facilitate rapid movement of patients in the city.
What you need to know about Ebola
Ebola is spread through bodily fluids, with common symptoms being fever, vomiting, bleeding and diarrhoea.
The particular strain now circulating in Uganda is known as the Sudan Ebola virus, for which there is currently no vaccine.
The World Health Organization says clinical trials could start within weeks on drugs to combat that strain.
Uganda’s last recorded fatality from a previous Ebola outbreak was in 2019.
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