Uganda’s health ministry has confirmed an Ebola outbreak in the capital city of Kampala, after a nurse at Mulago referral hospital died from the disease on Wednesday.
The patient had initially sought treatment at various facilities, including Mulago, after developing fever-like symptoms.
The ministry reported that the patient suffered from multi-organ failure and succumbed to the illness at Mulago National Referral Hospital on January 29.
Post-mortem samples confirmed the presence of the Sudan Ebola Virus Disease strain.
This outbreak is particularly concerning given the highly infectious nature of the hemorrhagic fever, which is transmitted through contact with infected bodily fluids and tissue.
Symptoms include headache, vomiting blood, muscle pains, and bleeding.
Uganda has experienced Ebola outbreaks before, with the most recent one occurring in late 2022.
That outbreak, which was declared over on January 11, 2023, resulted in 55 deaths out of 143 infected people, including six health workers.
