Uganda confirmed three new cases of Ebola, taking the total number of infections in the current outbreak to five in the country, the health ministry said on Saturday (23), as authorities stepped up contact tracing to contain the spread.
The declared the outbreak of the rare Bundibugyo strain a public health emergency of international concern, and said the risk of a national epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo is “very high.”
Around 750 suspected cases and 177 suspected deaths have been recorded in neighboring Uganda, the center of the outbreak.
The WHO stated that late detection, the absence of a vaccine or specific therapy for the virus, widespread armed violence and high mobility among the population make the country especially vulnerable.
The new cases in Uganda include a driver who transported the country’s first confirmed patient and a healthcare worker exposed while caring for that patient.
Both are receiving treatment and were identified among known contacts, the ministry said in a statement.
The third case is a woman from Congo who entered Uganda with mild abdominal symptoms and later traveled from Arua, near the border, to Entebbe before seeking care at a private hospital in the capital, Kampala.
The patient initially improved and returned to Congo, but later tested positive for it following an alert from a person involved in her transport.
All identified contacts linked to confirmed cases are being closely monitored, said the ministry, which urged the public to remain vigilant and report suspected symptoms.
