A case of Ebola has been confirmed in Jinja, in eastern Uganda, the country's health minister said on Sunday, the first time the outbreak has spread from central Uganda to a new region of the country where cases have previously been limited, have been struggling to contain the highly contagious and deadly hemorrhagic fever since the epidemic was declared on September 20.
So far, Uganda has recorded a total of 135 confirmed cases and 53 deaths, according to the Health Ministry. In a tweet, Health Secretary Jane Ruth Aceng said the case in Jinja was that of a 45-year-old man who died Thursday.
A sample that tested positive for Ebola was taken from his body by medical staff at a private clinic where he had been treated. "Contact tracing and epidemiological investigations have been activated," Aceng said.
The virus circulating in Uganda is the Sudanese strain of Ebola, for which there is no proven vaccine, in contrast to the more common Zairian strain that spread to neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo during recent outbreaks. Ebola typically kills about half of the people it infects.
Comments
0 comment