Ebola in Uganda (WHO, July 29 2012,
[Source: World Health Organization, full page: (LINK).
Edited.]
Ebola in Uganda
29 July 2012
The Ministry of Health (MoH) of Uganda has notified WHO of an outbreak of
Ebola haemorrhagic fever in Kibaale district in the western part of the country.
A total of 20 cases, including 14 deaths have been reported since the
beginning of July 2012.
The index case was identified in a family from Nyanswiga village, Nyamarunda
sub-county of Kibaale district, where nine of the deaths were recorded.
The deceased include a clinical officer who attended to a patient, and her
four month-old child. Nine of the 14 deaths have occurred in a single
household.
Laboratory confirmation was done by the Uganda Virus Research Institute in
Entebbe.
Currently, two patients are hospitalized and are in stable
condition.
The first is a 38 year-old female who attended to her sister, the clinical
officer who died. She was admitted to the hospital on 26 July 2012.
The second is a 30 year-old female who participated in conducting the burial
of the index case. She was admitted to the hospital on 23 July 2012.
Both cases were admitted to hospital with fever, vomiting, diarrhoea and
abdominal pain. Neither of the cases has so far shown bleeding, a symptom that
often appears in viral haemorrhagic fever patients.
The MoH is working with stakeholders and partners to control the outbreak.
Response plans at the national and district levels are being finalised.
A national task force coordinated by the MoH has been re-activated at the MOH
headquarters and holds daily meetings. In Kibaale a district task force has been
formed to better coordinate field response. The neighbouring districts have been
put on high alert about the outbreak and to step up surveillance.
A team of experts from MoH, WHO and Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) is in Kibaale to support the response operations. All possible
contacts that were exposed to the suspected and confirmed cases since 6 July
2012 are being identified for active follow up. The necessary supplies and
logistics required for supportive management of patients are being mobilized.
Kibaale hospital has established a temporary isolation ward for suspected,
probable and confirmed cases. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Holland, has
mobilized necessary requirements for setting up isolation centre at the
hospital. The MoH and Mulago Hospital have mobilized some staff to manage the
isolation centre but more are urgently needed.
The MoH has advised the public to take measures to avert the spread of the
disease and to report any suspected patient to the nearest health unit.
WHO does not recommend that any travel or trade restrictions are applied to
Uganda.
