Kampala, June 5 (IANS) Uganda has confirmed three new Ebola cases, bringing the cumulative number of infections to 19 since the outbreak was declared on May 15, the Ministry of Health said on Friday.
In an update posted on social media platform X, the ministry said the three new cases were contacts of previously confirmed patients and had been under institutional quarantine.
The ministry also reported one new death involving a Congolese national, Xinhua news agency.
According to the ministry, of the 19 confirmed cases, 13 patients are currently receiving treatment, while four have recovered and been discharged. Two people have died from the disease.
Of the 19 confirmed cases, 14 are imported from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), while five are Ugandan nationals, the ministry said. It reiterated that the country remains safe and open to visitors.
Uganda’s index case was a Congolese national who travelled from eastern DRC, the epicentre of the current regional outbreak, to seek medical treatment in Uganda.
Confirmed Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have risen to 363, including 62 deaths, according to figures released Wednesday by the DRC government, while Uganda on Thursday reported four recoveries.
The latest developments were discussed on Thursday during an online press briefing organised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Office for Africa, which brought together senior WHO officials and government representatives from the DRC, Uganda and South Sudan.
“The virus initially moved ahead of us. But we are catching up. We are already seeing progress,” WHO Regional Director for Africa, Mohamed Janabi, addressed the briefing.
Janabi said six patients had been successfully treated and discharged in the DRC, while recoveries had also been recorded in Uganda.
Uganda’s Ministry of Health Permanent Secretary Diana Atwine said the country had so far confirmed 15 Ebola cases, including 11 imported cases and four infections among health workers who treated the first patient. “Out of those, we have also discharged four.”
–IANS
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