Uganda reports – Ugandan health officials reported two more Ebola infections on Monday, bringing the total to seven. All cases are linked to the outbreak in neighboring Congo, where suspected infections have topped 900, centered in eastern Ituri province.
KAMPALA, Uganda — The phone calls started after a Congolese man arrived at a hospital in Kampala, the Ugandan capital, and died before anyone knew what was happening. By the time Ebola was confirmed, the trail had already reached other people.
On Monday, Ugandan health authorities reported two new Ebola cases, bringing the number of infections to seven.
All of the cases are linked to the outbreak in neighboring Congo, which appears to have started several days or weeks before Congolese authorities declared it on May 15.
The first known chapter of the Kampala cluster began with a 59-year-old Congolese man who was admitted to a hospital in Kampala on May 11. He died three days later, before it was known that he was suffering from Ebola. After that, two other Congolese nationals who sought medical care in Uganda later tested positive for Ebola.
Ugandan health officials on Saturday confirmed the first local infections: a driver and a health worker who had been exposed to the Congolese patient who died on May 11. Monday’s update added two more health workers at a private hospital in Kampala. who have tested positive. according to the Ministry of Health.
In Congo, suspected Ebola cases have topped 900, mainly in eastern Ituri province, where the ongoing outbreak is centered. The response has been hampered by fear. anger and frustration among locals. including attacks on treatment centers. as well as distrust of authorities in a region long plagued by armed violence.
The outbreak has been declared a global health emergency. The Bundibugyo type of Ebola virus responsible for the outbreak has no approved vaccine or treatment.
As Uganda’s numbers rise to seven. the details of the earliest hospital days in Kampala—especially that May 11 admission and three days until the man’s death—underscore how quickly an undetected infection can ripple outward. The strain now stretches beyond one patient and into the wider web of health workers exposed during care.
Uganda Ebola Kampala health officials Congo outbreak Ituri province Bundibugyo global health emergency