Uganda's 5th Sudan Ebola Outbreak Ends

There was very good news reported today by the World Health Organization (WHO) in Africa regarding the recent Sudan ebolavirus outbreak in the Republic of Uganda.

Today, the government of Uganda declared the end to the Ebola outbreak that began in September 2022, The last patient was released from care in late November 2022, which started the 42-day countdown to the end of the outbreak.

This was Uganda's first Sudan ebolavirus outbreak in a decade and its fifth overall for this kind of Ebola.

There were 164 cases, 55 confirmed deaths, and 87 recovered patients. Overall, the case-fatality ratio was 47%.

"While we expanded our efforts to put a strong response in place across the nine affected (Uganda) districts, the magic bullet has been our communities who understood the importance of doing what was needed to end the outbreak and took action," said Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng Ocero, Uganda's Minister of Health, in a press release on January 11, 2023.

Uganda's long experience in responding to epidemics allowed the country to rapidly strengthen critical areas of the response and overcome the lack of these essential tools. 

Unfortunately, there were no SUDV therapeutics and vaccines available in 2022.

However, should there be another outbreak, three SUDV candidate vaccines were identified, and over 5,000 doses of these arrived for testing in Uganda last year.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says the Ebola virus (Ebola hemorrhagic fever) is rare and deadly. It spreads by contact with the blood or body fluids of a person infected with the Ebola virus and from contaminated objects or infected animals.

Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle pain, weakness, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach pain, and unexplained bleeding or bruising.

Furthermore, detecting a SUDV infection requires diagnostic tests.

Since October 6, 2022, all U.S.-bound passengers who have been in Uganda have been routed to five designated airports in the U.S. for enhanced Ebola screening.

The U.K. launched a similar program in mid-November 2022.

As of January 11, 2022, the CDC had not rescinded its travel alert.

Other Ebola outbreak news is posted at Vax-Before-Travel.com/Ebola.

Updated: Headline modified on Jan. 13, 2023.