An outbreak of Sudan Ebola Virus Disease (SUDV) has been in Kampala,- Uganda This was announced today by the Ministry of Health after three National Reference Laboratories confirmed positive test results.
Dr. Diana Atwine, the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, assured the public that rapid response teams are fully deployed, contact tracing is underway, and all necessary measures are being taken to control the situation. She stated, “We are in full control.”
The confirmed case, which is the first known case, involves a 32-year-old male nurse working at Mulago National Referral Hospital. The nurse initially experienced fever-like symptoms and sought treatment at various health facilities, including Mulago Hospital, Saidina Abubakar Islamic Hospital in Wakiso District, and Mbale Regional Referral Hospital. He also consulted a traditional healer.
Dr. Atwine detailed that the nurse had a five-day history of high fever, chest pain, and breathing difficulties, which later progressed to unexplained bleeding. The patient ultimately suffered multi-organ failure and passed away on January 29, 2025, at Mulago National Referral Hospital. Post-mortem samples confirmed the presence of the Sudan Ebola Virus. Dr. Atwine emphasized that no other healthcare workers or patients at the hospital have shown symptoms of Ebola so far.
This marks the 7th outbreak of the Sudan virus, with the most deadly Ebola outbreak occurring between 2014 and 2016 in West Africa, which resulted in 11,310 deaths and about 28,600 cases.
Although there is no specific treatment or vaccine for Sudan virus, vaccines exist for the Zaire strain. Experts have stressed the urgent need to address gaps in controlling the current outbreak. There have been seven prior Sudan virus outbreaks, four of them in Uganda and three in Sudan, with fatality rates ranging from 41% to 100% in past outbreaks.
Ministry of Health Actions:
- The Ministry has activated the Incident Management Team and sent Rapid Response Teams to Mbale City and Saidina Abubakar Islamic Hospital in Matugga.
- So far, 44 contacts have been identified, including 30 healthcare workers and patients from Mulago, 11 family members of the deceased, and 4 health workers from Saidina Abubakar Islamic Hospital.
- The deceased will be given a safe and dignified burial to prevent further spread of the disease.
- Vaccination of all contacts of the deceased will begin immediately.
The last Ebola outbreak in Uganda ended on January 11, 2023, with 164 cases and 55 confirmed deaths. Since 2000, Uganda has reported six Ebola outbreaks, totaling 325 cases and 224 deaths.
The first documented outbreak of Ebola occurred in 1976, near the Ebola River, caused by the Zaire strain. In the same year, a separate outbreak of Sudan virus occurred in Sudan, and since then, there have been several outbreaks of SUDV in sub-Saharan Africa.
By Elite Daily News
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