Three new cases of the virus ebola have been confirmed in Ugandawhich brings the number of infections in the country to five after an outbreak was declared on the 15th in the east of the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Ugandan Ministry of Health reported this Saturday, which requested calm to the population
In a statement, the Ministry noted that among the new cases is “a Ugandan driver who transported the first confirmed case in the country” and who “is currently receiving treatment.” The other two correspond to “a Ugandan health worker who was exposed to the virus while caring for the first confirmed case in the country” and who “is also receiving treatment”; and a Congolese woman, resident in the DRC, who entered Uganda.
“The patient entered Uganda from the DRC with mild abdominal symptoms,” Ugandan authorities explained. That woman traveled from Arua (a city in northwestern Uganda near the border with the DRC) to Entebbe airport, which serves Kampala, on a charter flight and sought medical attention on May 10 at a private hospital in the capital. “She was initially treated and discharged in good condition on May 14, 2026, after which she returned to the DRC. The Ministry of Health subsequently received a notice from the pilot who had airlifted her, which prompted additional monitoring by surveillance teams,” the department explained. Eventually, a sample was taken from the Congolese woman and she tested positive for Ebola virus disease.
The Ministry of Health emphasized that “all contacts linked to the confirmed cases have been identified and are being monitored and closely followed by the response teams.” And he urged the entire population to “remain calm, vigilant and continue observing all the recommended preventive measures“and immediately report any suspicious symptom of Ebola to the nearest health center.
Early treatment
“He early treatment considerably improves the chances of survival,” recalled the Ministry, which continues to “strengthen surveillance, case management, contact tracing and public awareness campaigns to contain the outbreak.”
As of this Saturday, Uganda had confirmed two positive cases of Ebola imported from the DRC, including one death in a private hospital in Kampala.
The outbreak, which was declared in the Congolese province of Ituri (northeast), corresponds to the strain Bundibugyo of Ebola, whose case fatality rate ranges between 30% and 50% and for which it does not exist vaccine authorized or specific treatment, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
This Friday, the WHO raised the number of suspicious deaths due to the DRC epidemic to 177 and reported 750 suspected cases.
The virus probably began circulating in Ituri two months agoaccording to the WHO, which declared the outbreak last Sunday as a “public health emergency of international importance”, although it considers the global risk of an epidemic “low”.
Different African countries have strengthened health controls and Rwanda has even closed its borders.
This is the 17th outbreak recorded in the DRC since the virus was first detected in 1976.
The Ebola virus is transmitted through direct contact with bodily fluids of infected people or animals and causes severe hemorrhagic fever, vomiting, diarrhea, and internal bleeding.
