Uganda Ebola outbreak: first death recorded in capital Kampala
An Ebola patient in Uganda has become the first to die in the capital, Kampala, the health ministry confirmed to the BBC on Wednesday. The man who died was the 19th victim of an outbreak, which has comprised 54 confirmed cases in the East African country, the report said. Read More : Delta variant as contagious as Chickenpox: US CDC So far, 20 people — including five medics at the hospital where the first case was treated — have recovered and were discharged on Tuesday.
The man who died in Kampala was not from the city but was known to have potentially come into contact with the virus.
He ran away from his village and disguised his identity before visiting a healer in a different region, Health Minister Dr Jane Aceng said. He was already seriously ill when he arrived at the hospital.
He died at Kiruddu National Referral Hospital last Friday, although his death was confirmed on Wednesday, the BBC said.
The outbreak was confirmed by health authorities in September after the country confirmed its first case in a decade.
A 24-year-old man in the African country's central Mubende district showed symptoms and later died. He was confirmed to have tested positive for the Sudan strain of the virus following an investigation by the National Rapid Response team into six suspicious deaths in the district in September.
“This is the first time in more than a decade that Uganda is recording an outbreak of [the] Sudan Ebola virus,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, the World Health Organisation's regional director for Africa, at the time.
Dr Aceng said there were currently no other confirmed Ebola cases in Kampala, although the city and surrounding districts are considered high risk.
The man who died in Kampala was not from the city but was known to have potentially come into contact with the virus.
He ran away from his village and disguised his identity before visiting a healer in a different region, Health Minister Dr Jane Aceng said. He was already seriously ill when he arrived at the hospital.
He died at Kiruddu National Referral Hospital last Friday, although his death was confirmed on Wednesday, the BBC said.
The outbreak was confirmed by health authorities in September after the country confirmed its first case in a decade.
A 24-year-old man in the African country's central Mubende district showed symptoms and later died. He was confirmed to have tested positive for the Sudan strain of the virus following an investigation by the National Rapid Response team into six suspicious deaths in the district in September.
“This is the first time in more than a decade that Uganda is recording an outbreak of [the] Sudan Ebola virus,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, the World Health Organisation's regional director for Africa, at the time.
Dr Aceng said there were currently no other confirmed Ebola cases in Kampala, although the city and surrounding districts are considered high risk.
Source: www.thenationalnews.com
