August 1 2012 at 12:34am
Kampala - Three new cases of the deadly Ebola virus were confirmed on Tuesday in Uganda, as 15 patients - including health workers suspected of contracting the disease - were transferred to hospital isolation wards. A further 40 people were being monitored for symptoms, which include haemorrhagic fever, vomiting and bleeding from internal organs.
About 90 percent of cases of the highly contagious disease result in death.
Fourteen people have died since the outbreak at the beginning of the month that started in the western district of Kibaale, about 250km from the capital Kampala, where two cases have since been recorded.
Teams of government health officials and NGOs were trying to curb the spread, while the public has been advised by the government to refrain from physical contact, including shaking hands, in order to decrease the risks of transmission.
“It's very important to react quickly to find where the disease is focused and to isolate it as fast as possible,” said Medecins Sans Frontieres' Olimpia de la Rosa.
“It is also essential to take care of the caregivers - which means supporting and working closely with the Ugandan health teams who are already struggling to stop the virus spreading,” she said.
Ebola is caused by a virus first identified in 1976 in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
In two Ebola epidemics in 2000 and 2007 in Uganda, more than 200 people were killed.
Last year, a 12-year-old girl died in an isolated case. - Sapa-dpa http://www.iol.co.za/news/africa/new...anda-1.1353465
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