Uganda reports worrisome increase in Ebola cases in capital
The Hindu
A top World Health Organization official in Africa said last week that Uganda’s Ebola outbreak was “rapidly evolving”
Ugandan officials have reported 11 more cases of Ebola in the capital since October 21, a worrisome increase in infections just over a month after an outbreak was declared in a remote part of the East African country.
Nine more people in the Kampala metropolitan area tested positive for Ebola on Sunday, in addition to two others on Friday, Health Minister Jane Ruth Aceng said Monday.
A top World Health Organization official in Africa said last week that Uganda’s Ebola outbreak was “rapidly evolving,” describing a challenging situation for health workers.
Ugandan health authorities have confirmed 75 cases of Ebola since September 20, including 28 deaths. There are 19 active cases.
The official numbers don't include those who probably died of Ebola before the outbreak was confirmed in a farming community about 150 kilometers (93 miles) west of Kampala.
Fears that Ebola could spread far from the outbreak’s epicenter compelled authorities to impose an ongoing lockdown, including nighttime curfews, on two of the five districts reporting Ebola cases. The measures were put in place after a man infected with Ebola sought treatment in Kampala and died in a hospital there.
The nine new cases reported Monday follow a similar pattern as they all are contacts of an Ebola-infected patient who traveled from an Ebola hotspot and sought treatment at Kampala's top public hospital, known as Mulago.