A new case of Ebola has popped up in Uganda, in the first incident of international cross-over since an outbreak began in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) back in August 2018.
While governmental and international agencies have worked hard to keep the disease from spreading beyond national borders, officials believe that the Ugandan case comes in the form of a person infected in the DRC, who then crossed over into Uganda. For Uganda, it represents the first case of Ebola since 2013 — and the first ever case of Zaire ebolavirus. Both were confirmed through lab testing at the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI).
“This is a sobering development that everyone has been working to avoid, and highlights the complexity of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Robert Redfield said. “Despite this first case of Ebola in Uganda, officials in DRC and Uganda, alongside partners throughout the international community, are dedicated to bringing the outbreak in Africa to an end. CDC is working with our response partners to rapidly detect and prevent additional cases in Uganda, and to prevent further spread of Ebola in DRC and to other neighboring countries.”
To date, the responsible ebola outbreak has killed 1,390 in the DRC. The CDC has been quick to state that risk of transmission to the United States remains low. However, experts remain concerned about the regional spread, and the CDC has been working closely with regional partners, as well as organizations like USAID and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to address the situation.
The CDC reports that more than 2,000 of Uganda’s healthcare workers have been vaccinated against Ebola since the start of the DRC outbreak. Efforts to identify cases, isolate the sick and contract trace those exposed to Ebola patients are ongoing.