Uganda has been declared free of Ebola after completing the World Health Organization’s mandatory 42-day monitoring period without a new case. The WHO and Uganda’s Ministry of Health announced the decision at a joint news conference.
The declaration came about a month after Uganda’s Health Ministry had said its own assessment showed the outbreak was over. The country’s officials are now urging nations that imposed travel restrictions during the outbreak to remove them.
Why the WHO declaration came later
Diana Atwine, permanent secretary at Uganda’s Health Ministry, said the country had assessed the chain of transmission and the risk of virus importation before making its own declaration. She said the WHO had to wait for the required monitoring process to be completed.
The 42-day period is the guideline used for the formal declaration. Atwine said countries that restricted travel from Uganda during the outbreak should lift those measures unless they have separate reasons to keep them in place.
Key points
- Uganda recorded 20 Ebola infections and two deaths during the outbreak.
- The last confirmed case was recorded on June 21.
- The last patient was discharged from Mulago National Referral Isolation Centre on July 16.
- Uganda’s Health Ministry formally declared the outbreak over on July 28.
The outbreak across the border in DR Congo
The situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is worsening. Confirmed cases reached 5,656 as of August 25, up by 72 from the previous day’s report, while 2,715 deaths had been recorded in the latest government data cited by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
Ituri province in northeastern DR Congo remains the epicentre, with more than 4,700 people infected. Uganda shares a border of more than 877km with the northeastern part of DR Congo, creating an ongoing need for cross-border health measures. For additional context, see “Unpaid Ebola health workers walk out in DR Congo’s Ituri province”.
Uganda expands cross-border support
Kasonde Mwinga, the WHO representative for Uganda, said Uganda was supporting treatment and laboratory capacity at sites in Aru and Kasenyi, both in Ituri province. Uganda has also announced two additional Ebola treatment centres in DR Congo, bringing the total to four.
Ugandan and Congolese officials met in Kampala to review a bilateral memorandum of understanding on cross-border health security. Uganda’s Health Ministry called for the WHO and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention to mobilise more resources, while the DRC delegation urged stronger action against the virus.
What happens next
Uganda and DR Congo are reviewing their cross-border health-security agreement while Uganda continues support for treatment and laboratory capacity in Ituri province.
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