Uganda Declared Free of Deadly Ebola

Uganda has been declared free of the deadly Ebola disease by the World Health Organization and the home Ministry of Health. Health Minister Stephen Mallinga said February 20 marked 42 days since the discharge of the last victim of the viral fever that killed 37 out of the recorded 149 victims.

The 42 days, he added, were two incubation periods of 21 days each, which means the transmission cycle had been broken.

The WHO and the ministry are organizing a special memorial function for Bundibugyo district west of Kampala which was the epicentre of the disease to recognize the residents, leaders and health workers for their efforts in containing the outbreak.

According to the ministry, the recent epidemic killed fewer people compared to other known Ebola outbreaks. The death rate, according to the ministry, stood at 25 percent.

The earlier epidemic in northern Uganda in 2000 killed over 50 percent of the infected while the outbreaks in Sudan and Zaire (now renamed Democratic Republic of Congo) in 1976 claimed over 90 percent of the victims.

In December 2007, the government released $2.6 million as emergency funding to contain Ebola. According to Sam Okware, the commissioner for health services, the money was used for essential supplies, stores and protective gear and to coordinate control and preventive measures.

The government promised to compensate health workers who were infected and the families of those who died, depending on the level of seniority of the deceased.

The minister said in a statement on Thursday that the ministry would strengthen the Uganda Virus Research Institute to a sub-regional centre to effectively handle such dangerous diseases. Surveillance will also be stepped up through village health teams, he said.

The ministry was researching for the risk factors and possible reservoirs of emerging dangerous organisms, he said.

Source African Press Agency

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