To control the spread of the recent Ebola outbreak in Uganda, the World Health Organisation pledges to support the national health authorities of Uganda with $1 million from its Contingency Fund to accelerate early action.
This was contained in a document made available on their website on Thursday, following its confirmation of the outbreak.
In its effort to bring the virus under control, WHO noted that senior public health experts will be deployed to work with mobilised country office staff.
Among its responses to tackle this surge are the supplies of medical equipment and personal protective gear, which are to be delivered to Uganda from its Emergency Response Hub in Nairobi.
The statement read partly, “While there are no licensed vaccines for the Sudan virus disease, WHO is coordinating with developers to deploy candidate vaccines as an addition to the other public health measures. The vaccines will be deployed once all administrative and regulatory approvals are obtained.
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“So far, one confirmed case—a nurse from Mulago National Referral Hospital in the capital Kampala—has been reported. No other health workers or patients have shown symptoms of the disease. A total of 45 contacts, including health workers and family members of the confirmed case (deceased), have been identified and are currently under close monitoring. The identification of the case in a densely populated urban area requires a rapid and intense response.
Meanwhile, there have been eight reported outbreaks of the Sudan virus disease. In 2022, five cases were recorded in Uganda and three in Sudan.
While declaring the outbreak, WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, pledges its support to the country’s government.
Dr. Kasonde Mwinga, WHO Representative in Uganda, reaffirmed its assurance in tackling the outbreak.
“Banking on the existing expertise, we are accelerating all efforts, including expertise, resources, and tools to save lives and bring the outbreak to a halt swiftly,” Mwinga noted.
Sudan virus disease is a severe, often fatal illness affecting humans and other primates that is due to Orthoebolavirus sudanense (Sudan virus), a viral species belonging to the same genus of the virus causing Ebola virus disease.
The mortality of the virus has increased from 41% to 100% in past outbreaks with no actual approved treatments or vaccines, but early detection has significantly reduced deaths from Sudan virus disease.
