KAMPALA, January 30, 2025 – The Ministry of Health has confirmed an outbreak of Ministry of Sudan Ebola Virus Disease [SVD] in Kampala following positive test of the strain from three National Reference Laboratories, with the first confirmed patient dying from the disease on Wednesday.
The patient, a nurse at the Mulago National Referral Hospital, had initially sought treatment at various facilities, including Mulago after developing fever-like symptoms.
“The patient experienced multi-organ failure and succumbed to the illness at Mulago National Referral Hospital on Jan 29. Post-mortem samples confirmed Sudan Ebola Virus Disease (strain),” Dr Dina Atwine, the Health Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, said while addressing the media in Kampala on Thursday.
The highly infectious hemorrhagic fever is transmitted through contact with infected bodily fluids and tissue. Symptoms include headache, vomiting blood, muscle pains, and bleeding.
“The Ministry of Health would like to reassure the public that we are in full control of the situation and continue to safeguard the lives of all people in Uganda. Please report any suspected case of Ebola to our toll-free line, 0800-100-066 or the nearest health facility,” Atwine added.
Uganda last suffered an outbreak of Ebola in late 2022, and that outbreak was declared over on Jan. 11, 2023, after nearly four months of fighting to contain the viral infection.
The last outbreak killed 55 of the 143 people infected and the dead included six health workers.
About the outbreaks
The Ebola virus, Sudan virus, and Bundibugyo virus are the three viruses responsible for most large outbreaks in Africa.
The Ebola virus is the deadliest and without treatment, up to 90 percent of cases are fatal. It caused the 2014–2016 outbreak in West Africa, the largest Ebola disease outbreak to date, with more than 28,600 cases reported. It was also associated with a 2018–2020 outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo [DRC], during which a small number of cases were reported across the border in Uganda. Other large outbreaks of Ebola virus have resulted in hundreds of cases in DRC and Gabon. Smaller outbreaks have also occurred in DRC, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, and South Africa.
The Sudan virus causes death in about 50 percent of people who get sick with the disease. This virus caused several outbreaks in Uganda and near the border between South Sudan and DRC.
The Bundibugyo virus is the most recently discovered type of orthoebolavirus. It was discovered in 2007 and causes death in about 30 percent of people who contract it. It was associated with two large outbreaks, one in DRC and the other on the border of DRC and Uganda.
Taï Forest virus is a rarer cause of disease. It has only been known to infect one person, in Côte d’Ivoire in 1994.
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