The World Health Organization has declared the end of the Ebola outbreak in Uganda, less than four months after the first case of the Ebola Sudan strain was confirmed in the country’s central Mubende district in September.
“I congratulate Uganda on its strong and comprehensive response, which has resulted in today’s Ebola victory. Uganda has demonstrated that Ebola can be defeated when the entire system works together “WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement on Wednesday.
The WHO made the declaration after the 42-day mandatory period without a new case, which is required to declare an outbreak over. The virus that causes Ebola has an incubation period of two to 21 days. Patients initially have a fever, but later pass blood from the mouth, nose, and eyes. The disease has a fatality rate of up to 90%.
The WHO’s regional director for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti, said the Ebola outbreak was the most difficult in the last five years, but Uganda stayed put and fine-tuned its response even without vaccines. “Two months ago, it appeared that Ebola would cast a dark shadow over the country well into 2023, as the outbreak reached major cities like Kampala and Jinja, but this victory begins the year on a note of great hope for Africa,” she said.
The WHO collaborated with a variety of partners, including vaccine developers, researchers, donors, and the Ugandan health authorities, from the moment Uganda declared the outbreak, according to Moeti. “Three candidate vaccines were identified, and the first batch of over 5,000 doses arrived in the country on December 8. The rapidity with which this collaboration has occurred marks a watershed moment in the global capacity to respond quickly to evolving outbreaks and prevent them from spreading “She stated.
Despite the fact that the vaccines were not used during the outbreak, Yonas Tegegn Woldemariam, WHO representative in Uganda, stated that they continue to be a contribution of Uganda and its partners to the fight against Ebola.
