Uganda officials confirm Ebola outbreak in capital; one person dead
Key takeaways:
- An Ebola outbreak has been declared in Kampala, Uganda.
- One person, who worked as a nurse in the city, has died.
Health officials in Uganda confirmed there is an Ebola virus outbreak in the capital city and that one person has died.
In a statement, the Uganda Ministry of Health said that a 32-year-old male nurse at Mulago National Referral Hospital in Kampala has died. The man sought care from at least three facilities, as well as a “traditional healer,” after developing symptoms that initially included several days of high fever, chest pain and difficulty breathing, the health ministry said. His symptoms progressed into “unexplained bleeding from multiple body sites,” and he experienced multiorgan failure before dying on Jan. 29, the ministry said.
In a statement, the ministry said that as of Thursday, no other health care workers or patients have presented with Ebola symptoms. It said contact tracing is underway for at least 45 contacts of the patient — including 30 health care workers.
According to the health ministry, postmortem samples confirmed that the man died from an infection with Sudan ebolavirus. Unlike the Zaire species of the virus, for which there are effective vaccines, there are no licensed vaccines for Sudan ebolavirus, although WHO said it was working to get unlicensed candidate vaccines to the outbreak. The Uganda health ministry said health workers and contacts of the man who died would be prioritized for vaccination.
“Uganda’s robust expertise in responding to public health emergencies will be crucial in ending this outbreak effectively,” Matshidiso Moeti, MD, MPH, WHO’s regional director for Africa, said in a press release.
The last Ebola outbreak in Uganda was declared in the country’s Mubende district in September 2022 and was also caused by Sudan ebolavirus It was the first outbreak of Sudan ebolavirus reported in Uganda in over a decade. By the time the outbreak was declared over in January 2023, 142 people had been infected — including 19 health care workers — and 55 died, including seven health care workers.
References:
- Uganda confirms Sudan Ebola virus disease outbreak. https://www.health.go.ug/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Press-Statement-Ebola-outbreak-confirm.pdf. Published Jan. 30, 2025. Accessed Jan. 30, 2025.
- WHO accelerates efforts to support response to Sudan virus disease outbreak in Uganda. https://www.afro.who.int/countries/uganda/news/who-accelerates-efforts-support-response-sudan-virus-disease-outbreak-uganda. Published Jan. 30, 2025. Accessed Jan. 30, 2025.
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