Amid the fast-spreading strain of Ebola virus across East Africa, the Ugandan government, through its Ministry of Health, has recorded six new cases in the country.
The ministry reported that these additional cases bring the total number of laboratory-confirmed infections to nine, including one death.
The Director General of Health Services, Charles Olaro, confirmed yesterday that seven out of the Ebola carriers are currently undergoing treatment at Mulago National Referral Hospital in Kampala, while one patient is being treated at Mbale Regional Referral Hospital in the eastern part of the country.
He added that the eight patients are now in stable condition after receiving medication from health officials, and that 265 people who had physical contact with the confirmed cases have been quarantined.
” To contain the spread of the virus, the ministry has intensified surveillance efforts, enhanced public health risk communication, and strengthened community engagement,” Olaro stated.
The country declared an outbreak of the severe, often fatal viral infection on Jan. 30 after a 32-year-old nurse died of the disease.
The latest outbreak is being driven by the Sudan strain of the virus, for which there is no approved vaccine.
Existing vaccines are for the Zaire strain of Ebola, which was behind recent outbreaks in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.
As stated by the World Health Organization (WHO) last month, Uganda has launched a trial vaccination programme against the Sudan strain of Ebola.
Meanwhile, the government has assured citizens that it is in “full control” of their safety as the country battles a fresh outbreak.
