A four-year-old child has died from the Ebola virus in Uganda, marking the second fatality in an outbreak that was first reported in late January, the country’s health ministry confirmed on Saturday.
Earlier this week, Uganda announced that it had recorded 10 cases of the Sudan Ebola strain, including the death of a nurse at Mulago National Referral Hospital. On Saturday, the ministry reported an additional positive case at the same hospital.
The deceased child was identified as a resident of Kibuli and was linked to the primary cluster of cases, officials said.
Ongoing Monitoring and Containment Efforts
Authorities initially believed that the outbreak, announced on January 30, was under control. By February 19, eight infected individuals had received treatment and recovered. However, concerns grew after new cases emerged, leading to 265 people being placed under quarantine at hospitals in Kampala and Mbale. These individuals had been in contact with the nurse who died in January.
Uganda is currently facing its sixth outbreak of the Sudan Ebola strain, a variant of the virus for which no approved vaccine exists. However, earlier this month, the country launched a vaccine trial, which has been hailed by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the fastest roll-out of an Ebola vaccine trial during an active epidemic.
Ebola and Its Impact
Ebola is a highly contagious virus transmitted through direct contact with body fluids. Symptoms, including fever, vomiting, bleeding, and diarrhea, typically appear after an incubation period of two to 21 days.
Uganda’s previous Ebola outbreak, which lasted from 2022 to 2023, resulted in 55 deaths over four months. The deadliest Ebola epidemic on record occurred in West Africa between 2013 and 2016, killing more than 11,300 people, according to WHO estimates.
Sources By Agencies
