Uganda confirms new Ebola cases as tracing steps up

Uganda has confirmed three new Ebola cases, bringing the total number of infections in the current outbreak to five, the health ministry said, as authorities stepped up contact tracing to contain the spread.

The World Health Organization has declared the outbreak of the rare Bundibugyo strain a public health emergency of international concern and said the risk of a national outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is “very high”.

Nearly 750 suspected cases and 177 suspicious deaths have been recorded in neighboring Uganda, the center of the epidemic.

WHO said late detection, lack of vaccines or virus-specific treatments, widespread armed violence and high mobility among its population made Congo particularly vulnerable.

The new cases reported in Uganda on Saturday included a driver transporting the country’s first confirmed patient and a healthcare worker who was exposed while caring for that patient.

The ministry said in a statement that both were receiving treatment and were identified among known contacts.

The third case is a Congolese woman who entered Uganda with mild abdominal symptoms and then traveled from Arua, near the border, to Entebbe and was admitted to a private hospital in the capital Kampala.

The patient initially recovered and returned to Congo, but later tested positive for Ebola after follow-up following a report from a pilot involved in transporting him.

The ministry stated that all contacts identified in connection with confirmed cases are being closely monitored and urged the public to remain vigilant and report suspicious symptoms.