Uganda reports worrisome increase in Ebola cases in capital
The World Health Organization reports that the country’s capital, Kampala, has become the epicenter of the world’s first Ebola epidemic.
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The World Health Organization reports that the country’s capital, Kampala, has become the epicenter of the world’s first Ebola epidemic.
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The World Health Organization is warning that it could take months to stop the spread of Ebola in Uganda, which has confirmed 21 new cases in the past week.
“We are very concerned that the Ebola outbreak could continue in Kampala for many weeks,” WHO regional director for Africa Dr. Matshidiso Moeti said Friday on a telephone briefing as he also reported a slight reduction in the number of new cases.
The increase in the death toll has increased fears of an ebola crisis in Africa. While most cases have been in countries with weak health systems, Uganda is emerging as an issue for the African Union.
“We have high confidence that the spread of the virus in Uganda will result in an increase in deaths,” Moeti said.
Uganda became the most recent of a dozen countries to declare a public health emergency over Ebola’s spreading.
WHO Director General Dr. Margaret Chan said last week that the outbreak was a threat to the entire continent and called on the Ugandan government to improve its response.
Moeti said the current outbreak is “not a regional or African problem.”
He said he was worried about the “re-emergence of a small cluster” in Uganda. The disease first appeared in Uganda in 1996 and has never been reported on that continent. Cases have been reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Sudan, the Central African Republic and the Republic of the Congo.
Chan said that by the time it gets out of the jungle is not clear when the disease will take hold.
There’s not yet a vaccine but researchers are working with an experimental drug.
A similar outbreak was
