The continental health authority said the Ebola outbreak would end if no new cases were reported in Uganda by January 10.
Africa’s top public health agency says the Ebola outbreak in Uganda is under control, as it has been 39 days since the last confirmed case of the virus was reported in the country.
CDC Africa acting director, Ahmed Ogwell Ouma, said at a press conference on Thursday that if no new cases are reported in Uganda by January 10, the outbreak will be over.
Officials first confirmed the outbreak in September and said it was a Sudanese strain, with no vaccine yet.
In December 2022, Uganda discharged its last known Ebola patient and President Yoweri Museveni lifted all Ebola-related movement restrictions, reflecting progress in curbing the spread. of the virus.
Ouma praised Uganda’s excellent coordination in Ebola containment measures, saying it had taken about 70 days to bring the outbreak under control with 142 confirmed cases and 55 deaths.
He added that vaccine trials against the Sudanese strain of Ebola are continuing.
African health authorities have made a concerted effort to boost Ebola preparedness after a severe outbreak of the disease-causing strain of Zaire in West Africa in 2014-2016 killed 11,300 people, mostly mostly. in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.
Ebola causes vomiting, bleeding, and diarrhea and is spread through contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person. The virus can sometimes survive in the eyes, central nervous system, and body fluids of survivors and flare up years later.
The World Health Organization says a country needs to go 42 days – twice the maximum incubation period – after the last confirmed case to be declared Ebola-free.
