Uganda is set to discharge its last remaining Ebola patient, marking a major milestone in the country’s efforts to contain the outbreak and bringing it one step closer to being declared Ebola-free.
Government spokesperson Alan Kasujja said the final patient, who has been receiving treatment at Mulago National Referral Hospital in Kampala, is due to leave hospital on Thursday. The discharge will trigger the 42-day countdown required by the World Health Organization (WHO) before Uganda can officially be declared free of Ebola, provided no new cases are recorded during that period.
According to Uganda’s Ministry of Health, the country has recorded 20 Ebola cases during the outbreak, including 15 imported cases and five locally transmitted infections. Seventeen patients have recovered, while two people died from the disease. All confirmed cases have been linked to the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus.
Uganda’s progress comes as neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) continues to battle a much larger outbreak. The WHO declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern in May, with the DRC reporting more than 2,000 confirmed cases and over 750 deaths, making it one of the largest Ebola outbreaks on record.
Health authorities have credited Uganda’s rapid surveillance, contact tracing and treatment measures for preventing wider community transmission. Officials, however, say they will remain on high alert throughout the 42-day monitoring period to ensure the virus does not re-emerge before the country is officially declared Ebola-free.
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