Uganda declares first Sudan ebolavirus outbreak in a decade
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Health authorities in Uganda on Tuesday declared an Ebola outbreak after a case of Sudan ebolavirus was confirmed.
Authorities in Uganda were investigating six “suspicious” deaths reported in the Mubende district this month, when a sample tested positive for the virus. The sample was from a 24-year-old man who has since died, according to Uganda’s Ministry of Health. There are currently eight other suspected cases who are being treated and monitored, WHO officials said.
“This is the first time in more than a decade that Uganda is recording an outbreak of Sudan ebolavirus,” WHO Regional Director for Africa Matshidiso Moeti, MD, MPH, said in a press release. “We are working closely with the national health authorities to investigate the source of this outbreak while supporting the efforts to quickly roll out effective control measures.”
According to WHO, there have been seven previous outbreaks of the Sudan ebolavirus — four of which have occurred in Uganda, with the most recent being in 2012. The most recent outbreak in Uganda was an outbreak of Zaire ebolavirus in 2019, which was imported from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
These Zaire ebolavirus outbreaks were brought under control after officials implemented ring vaccination for high-risk people using Merck’s Ervebo vaccine. This vaccine, however, has been proven to protect only against the Zaire strain. Officials said that another vaccine produced by Johnson & Johnson could be effective in the Uganda outbreak but has yet to be specifically tested against Sudan ebolavirus.
WHO did not immediately respond to requests for comments on if the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is being deployed in Uganda.
“Uganda is no stranger to effective Ebola control,” Moeti said. “Thanks to its expertise, action has been taken to quickly to detect the virus and we can bank on this knowledge to halt the spread of infections.”
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