By Website Writer; The World Health Organization (WHO) has today Wednesday, January 11, 2023 declared Uganda Ebola-free nearly four-month Ebola outbreak that it briefly struggled to contain but was then able to swiftly bring under control despite the absence of a proven vaccine against the viral strain in question.
“Fellow Ugandans, Happy New Year to you all. Today, 10th January 2023, marks 42 days since we began the countdown to Ebola free Uganda. I want to thank you all for your vigilance and a good job done. Together we can!” Hon. Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng states.
Uganda confirmed its first Sudan Ebola Virus Disease case in September last year after the Ministry of Health confirmed a 28-year-old man who tested positive for the virus and later succumbed to the disease on the same day.
The disease killed 56 people and infected 142 others.
In December last year, President Museveni announced that Uganda was now free of Ebola.
The director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, praised Uganda for its response to the virus.
“Congratulations to Uganda’s government, health workers & communities for your dedication to end the Ebola outbreak in less than 4 months. We thank donors & partners for swiftly mobilizing resources, & vaccine developers for making candidate vaccines available in record time,” Director-General of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated.
On January 6, the Ministry of Health and the president of the Uganda Medical Association (UMA), Dr Samuel Oledo, confirmed that 26 out of 126 health workers who treated Ebola patients have not received their pay.
Ebola spreads through contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person and has a fatality rate of about 50%. More than 11,300 people died during the 2013-2016 outbreak in West Africa.
Unlike the more common strain of the virus, Ebola Zaire, which has been behind several recent epidemics in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, the strain behind Uganda’s outbreak, Ebola Sudan, has no proven vaccine.
Even so, experts said Uganda’s experience battling previous outbreaks of Ebola and its viral cousin Marburg helped its response.
Uganda’s speed in ultimately containing cases, however, meant planned trials of vaccine candidates never got off the ground.
In December, Uganda received three vaccines – one by the University of Oxford and Serum Institute of India, another by the Sabin Vaccine Institute and a third by Merck (MRK.N) – for use vaccinating people in contact with confirmed cases.
But by that point, there were no new cases. The WHO said experts would meet on Jan. 12 to discuss the next steps for the vaccines.
Sabin chief executive Amy Finan said preparing for the trials had nevertheless taught health officials lessons for rolling out a trial in the future, including how to engage with communities.
Congratulations to national health authorities, health workers and the people of Uganda!
