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An outbreak of the highly infectious Ebola virus disease has been reported in Uganda, following the deaths of scores of people in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Ugandan health ministry, per Reuters, said the patient died in intensive care on May 14 after developing hemorrhagic symptoms. The case was an imported infection from the DRC.
On Friday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) announced a new Ebola outbreak in the remote Ituri province in Congo.
Nearly 250 suspected cases of the virus and 65 deaths have been reported in the Central African nation, recorded mostly in the Mongwalu and Rwampara health zones.
Four casualties were among laboratory-confirmed cases, the CDC confirmed in a statement. Suspected cases have also been reported in Bunia, pending confirmation.
The CDC said it is working with national authorities and partners on a coordinated response, but expressed concern about the risk of further spread due to the urban context of Bunia and Rwampara.
The agency cited population movement, relocation caused by insecurity, gaps in contact listing, prevention and control challenges, and the proximity of affected areas to Uganda and South Sudan.
Africa CDC Director General, Dr Jean Kaseya, has assured that the public health body stands in solidarity with the government and people of DR Congo as they respond to the health crisis.
”We are working with DRC, Uganda, South Sudan and partners to strengthen surveillance, preparedness and response, and to help contain the outbreak as quickly as possible,” he added.
The agency is activating emergency operations mechanisms, digital surveillance and data management, cross-border preparedness, laboratory coordination, and infection prevention and control.
Ebola, a severe and often fatal illness, spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected persons, contaminated materials, or persons who have died from the disease.
The CDC advocates early detection, prompt isolation and care, contact tracing, infection prevention and control, community engagement, as well as safe and dignified burials.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, NCDC, says it is on high alert over Ebola scare in the country.
The agency also confirmed that two recent suspected cases of viral haemorrhagic fever in Abuja tested negative for both Ebola and Marburg viruses.
Director-General of the NCDC, Jide Idris, made this known in a statement on Friday.
Idris stated that the most recent case involved a traveller who arrived in Abuja from Kigali and promptly sought medical care when he began to feel unwell.
“The decision to report early, combined with the vigilance of the attending clinician and hospital team, ensured that our public health system was promptly activated and that the risk to the public was minimised,” Idris said.
He noted that the NCDC had carried out a Dynamic Risk Assessment in response to recent reports of Ebola in other countries and had stepped up nationwide anticipatory measures.
According to him, surveillance has been strengthened at points of entry, isolation and treatment facilities have been placed on alert, and critical infection-prevention supplies prepositioned.
While the Abia State government continues its retrofitting of 200 primary health centres, residents of Isingwu Ofemme community in Umuahia North Local Government Area are voicing concerns over the deteriorating state of their own health facility.
Community leaders, speaking with newsmen, appealed for urgent government intervention to revive the centre, which they say has long been neglected.
Bright Nduchekweme, chairman of the community, lamented the facility’s poor condition, noting that it once served as a lifeline to four surrounding communities but is now barely functional.
His words „ After its commissioning, by former governor Theodore Orji, it became a source of joy to every man and woman in the community,” he recounted.
“Pregnant women delivered safely, children were immunized, and the sick received prompt medical attention. Today, the facility has become a shadow of its former self.”
Adding his voice, the village head, Godson Ohanu, described the centre’s current state as deeply troubling, pointing out that it can no longer manage emergencies effectively.
He recalled how the facility once catered to their needs but said its collapse has plunged the community into severe hardship. He called on Governor Alex Otti to urgently intervene and restore the centre’s operations.
