Uganda confirms three new Ebola cases, bringing total to five

The new cases in Uganda include a driver who transported the country’s first ⁠confirmed patient and a health worker.

KAMPALA, UGANDA - FEBRUARY 3: A member of a medical team at Mulago Referral Hospital prepares to administer a dose of vaccine, on February 3, 2025, in Kampala, Uganda. A trial vaccine is being made available for hospital workers and contacts of a man who died after testing positive for the Sudan strain of the Ebola virus last week. The Uganda Ministry of Health declared an outbreak of Sudan virus disease (SVD) on January 30, following the death of the 32-year-old male nurse who worked at the Mulago Referral Hospital, marking the first recorded fatality from Ebola since the last outbreak in Uganda, between 2022-2023. Sudan virus is a deadly strain of Ebola, and according to the World Health Organization, currently has no approved treatments or vaccines. (Photo by Hajarah Nalwadda/Getty Images) — The Bundibugyo strain of Ebola has a death rate of up to 50 percent, and no approved vaccine yet [File: Hajarah Nalwadda/Getty Images]

By AFP and Reuters

Uganda has confirmed three new ⁠cases of Ebola, bringing ⁠the total number of infections in the country in this outbreak to five, as authorities stepped up contact tracing to try to contain the spread.

The update from Uganda’s Ministry of Health on Saturday came a day after World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced the risk assessment for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola was being revised to “very high at the national level, high at the regional level, and low at global level”.

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Nearly 750 suspected cases and 177 suspected deaths ‌have been recorded in Uganda’s neighbouring country, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the centre of the outbreak.

First responders in the DRC say they lack basic supplies, which some have attributed to foreign aid cuts by major international donors, particularly the United States.

The WHO has said late detection, the absence of a vaccine or virus-specific therapeutics, widespread armed violence and high mobility among the population make the DRC especially vulnerable.

Uganda suspended all public transport to the DRC on Thursday after confirming two cases of Ebola – one infection and one death – involving Congolese nationals who crossed the border.

The new cases in Uganda reported on Saturday include a driver who transported the country’s first ⁠confirmed patient and a health worker ⁠exposed while caring for that patient.

Both are receiving treatment and were identified among known contacts, the Health Ministry said in a statement.

The third case is a woman ⁠from DRC who entered Uganda with mild abdominal symptoms and later travelled from Arua, close ⁠to the border, to Entebbe before seeking ⁠care at a private hospital in the capital, Kampala.

The patient initially improved and returned to DRC but later tested positive for Ebola after a follow-up prompted ‌by a tip-off from a pilot involved in transporting her.

All identified contacts linked to the confirmed cases are being closely monitored, ‌the ‌ministry said, urging the public to remain vigilant and report suspected symptoms.

“At this critical moment in the outbreak response, it is vital that authorities maintain high vigilance to control expansion of the virus,” Tedros said on Saturday.

“The WHO is working side by side with Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, and partners in the DRC and Uganda, to contain the outbreak, support affected people, and bolster a coordinated response.”