The Ugandan government has reported two deaths caused by the Ebola virus. “This is a worrying situation. We have been scaling up our efforts, in close coordination with government and other actors to help communities prepare for Ebola, and to contain its spread,” said Robert Kwesiga, Secretary-General of the Uganda Red Cross.
A five-year-old boy and his grandmother died after contracting the virus during a visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo. The family, who was born in the neighboring country but lives in Uganda, crossed the border to accompany the funeral of a family member killed by the Ebola virus.
The Uganda Ministry of Health has also confirmed the infection of a 3-year-old child from the same family. So the Ugandan government has decided to keep the entire family group in quarantine.
The Democratic Republic of Congo has witnessed an outbreak of the disease, and as a result, the border regions with Uganda have been controlled.
International concern
The international community has expressed concern about the confirmation of cases in Uganda. The European Union is sending an additional 3.5 million euros to help contain the spread of the virus. The organization says it has sent more than 17 million euros since the beginning of the outbreak in the DRC.
The World Health Organization, in partnership with the Uganda Ministry of Health, has stated that it has used experimental medicines to vaccinate about 4,700 professionals from 165 Ugandan medical centers.
“The UK government has been the leading donor for Ebola preparedness in Uganda, training health workers on the ground and providing medical equipment to deal with this virus. We stand ready to provide further support, but are also calling on the global community to step up. It is more important than ever that we work together to end this deadly outbreak,” said Harriett Baldwin, UK’s International Development Minister and Minister for Africa.
Outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Initiated in August 2018, the outbreak of Ebola in the DRC has already reached more than 2,000 people, of which 1,914 have already been confirmed. “In all, there were 1,346 deaths, of which 1,252 were confirmed and 94 were probable, and 539 were cured,” the country’s Ministry of Health said.
The latest outbreak of the disease, which occurred in 2014, has led to more than 10,000 deaths in West Africa, is considered the worst in history. The Ebola virus was discovered in the 1970s.
The World Health Organization says that since the outbreak was confirmed, it has taken the necessary efforts to contain it and that more than 90,000 people have received doses of the rVSV-Zebov vaccine.