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News Agencies: Athom Garang
Ugandan health authorities confirmed today, Thursday, the discovery of an Ebola case in the capital, Kampala, in a patient who sought healthcare at several facilities. The patient, a 32-year-old man, passed away at the Mulago National Emergency Hospital in Kampala on Wednesday.
The authorities at the Ugandan Ministry of Health clarified that the death was due to Ebola, and no other individuals at the hospital – whether healthcare workers or patients – have shown signs of Ebola infection so far.
Officials have identified more than 40 people who were in contact with the man, including 30 healthcare workers at Kampala Hospital, 11 family members, and four healthcare workers at another hospital in Matuga, located about 20 kilometers outside of Kampala. The man had also sought help from a traditional healer.
The man was infected with the Sudanese strain of Ebola, which currently has no licensed treatments or vaccines. However, experimental vaccines are available for the strain.
The Ugandan Ministry of Health stated that it would immediately begin vaccinating those who had been in contact with the man. The specific vaccines to be used have not been identified.
The confirmation of the Ebola case comes at a time when the global health situation is fragile, with the new Trump administration in the United States moving to withdraw from the World Health Organization, having already stopped communications with WHO officials. These steps have been widely condemned by both American and international health officials, who warned that they threaten global and U.S. health security.
The outbreak of Ebola in an urban area like Kampala raises particular concerns about the spread of the virus.
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