Uganda announces containment of recent Ebola epidemic

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Uganda’s Minister of Health on Tuesday declared the country Ebola-free following the East African nation’s latest outbreak of the viral haemorrhagic disease, which infected 20 people and claimed two lives.

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Uganda has experienced multiple Ebola outbreaks since 2000, when it recorded its first epidemic.

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However, health officials said the country has, over the years, developed the expertise needed to bring recent outbreaks under control quickly with limited community transmission.

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Fifteen people in the latest outbreak, which was declared in mid-May, were infected in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, the epicentre of the epidemic, where confirmed cases have exceeded 3,000.

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The last Ebola patient in Uganda, a Congolese national, was discharged on June 22.

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Health Minister Chris Baryomunsi said the declaration followed the successful completion of the mandatory 42-day monitoring period, which began after the discharge of the last Ugandan national infected through local transmission on June 16, 2026.

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According to the minister, of the 20 confirmed cases recorded during the outbreak, 18 patients recovered and were discharged, while two died from the virus. Both fatalities were nationals of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

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“Throughout this period, the Ministry of Health maintained intensive surveillance nationwide, and no new Ebola cases have been detected,” Baryomunsi said.

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Officials said Uganda’s many tropical forests, which are home to fruit bats—the natural reservoirs of the virus—make the country vulnerable to recurring outbreaks.

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The virus is transmitted through contact with infected bodily fluids and tissues. Symptoms include headache, vomiting blood, muscle pain and bleeding.

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(Reuters/NAN)

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