Friday, January 31, 2025 - A 32-year-old nurse at Mulago National Referral Hospital in Kampala, Uganda, has died from Sudan Ebola Virus Disease, the country's health ministry confirmed on Thursday, January 30. The ministry described the nurse as the first confirmed case of an outbreak declared in the capital city.
The health ministry's permanent secretary, Diana Atwine,
announced that the outbreak was confirmed following tests conducted by three
national reference laboratories. The nurse initially exhibited fever-like
symptoms before experiencing multi-organ failure and succumbing to the disease
on Wednesday.
In a statement, the ministry said no other healthcare
workers or patients in the same ward had shown signs or symptoms of Ebola.
However, rapid response teams have been mobilized, and 44 contacts of the
deceased have been identified for monitoring and vaccination.
Sudan Ebola Virus is one of six known species of the Ebola
virus. Unlike other strains, there is currently no confirmed vaccine for Sudan
Ebola, though three candidate vaccines were developed and trialed during
Uganda’s 2022 outbreak.
Uganda shares a porous border with the Democratic Republic
of Congo (DRC), where Ebola was first discovered in 1976. The DRC has
experienced more than a dozen outbreaks, the deadliest claiming 2,280 lives in 2020.
Uganda’s most recent outbreak, in 2022, lasted four months and claimed 55 lives
before it was brought under control through measures such as surveillance,
contact tracing, and infection prevention.
Outbreaks of Ebola are notoriously challenging to contain,
especially in urban areas. The virus is transmitted through contact with bodily
fluids, and symptoms include fever, vomiting, diarrhea, and bleeding. Infected
individuals become contagious only after symptoms appear, which can occur
between two to 21 days after exposure.
The deadliest Ebola epidemic occurred in West Africa between
2013 and 2016, resulting in more than 11,300 deaths. Health authorities in
Uganda are now working to prevent further spread in Kampala as they monitor
contacts of the deceased and implement control measures.
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