Ethiopian Informer
ADDIS ABABA (EI): The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has commended Uganda as the country officially declared the end of its eighth outbreak of the Sudan Ebola Virus Disease (SVD).
The Africa CDC, in a statement issued Sunday, disclosed that since the last reported case on March 2 and the discharge of the final patient from the treatment center on March 14, Uganda has recorded no new infections for 42 consecutive days. Health authorities reported a total of fourteen cases (12 confirmed and two probable), which resulted in four deaths with a case fatality rate of 28.6 percent.
Noting that all ten patients who were admitted for treatment recovered, the country has since enrolled in the survivors’ care program for psychosocial support and other recovery services. It said the survivors have been successfully reintegrated into their communities and no longer pose a risk of transmission. Additionally, out of 534 identified contacts, 85.2 percent were successfully quarantined and closely monitored throughout the response.
Congratulating the government and people of Uganda, Director General of Africa CDC Jean Kaseya stressed that the success reflects not only scientific and operational excellence, but also the strength of African unity and leadership. He said Uganda has demonstrated that collective action and resilience can overcome even the most formidable public health challenges.
“The end of this Ebola outbreak highlights Uganda’s strong leadership, swift action, and effective coordination, serving as a model of best practice for outbreak response on the continent. The successful containment and recovery of all admitted patients demonstrate the strength of Uganda’s health system and the impact of action-oriented partnerships,” an Africa CDC statement quoted Kaseya as saying.
According to the Africa CDC, after confirmation of the outbreak on January 30, 2025, Uganda swiftly implemented comprehensive interventions, including active surveillance, enhanced contact tracing, case isolation and treatment, mortality surveillance, and extensive public awareness campaigns.
It said such measures enabled rapid containment of the outbreak, despite the absence of approved vaccines or specific treatments for the Sudan strain of the Ebola virus.
The Africa CDC had deployed 15 public health emergency response specialists to support Uganda’s efforts to contain the outbreak across critical areas, including coordination, surveillance, infection prevention and control (IPC), risk communication, community engagement, pharmacovigilance, and research activities, it was noted.
Photo Credit: Africa CDC
