Ebola outbreak in Uganda: the health system has never been better prepared

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Uganda has experienced several past outbreaks of Ebola. For these reasons the country has developed a functional surveillance system to flag and confirm suspicious cases early.

An outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus was announced by Uganda’s ministry of health on 21 September 2022. Uganda has had at least six previous episodes of Ebola in 2000 , 2007 , 2011 , two events in 2012 and 2019 . The recently confirmed case is of the less deadly Sudan strain. Abdhalah Ziraba, a public health researcher who heads the emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases research unit at African Population and Health Research Center, outlines Uganda’s preparedness this time around.

What are the risks to public health? The Ebola virus is highly infectious and mainly transmitted through contact with body fluid of infected persons. What response measures has Uganda put in place over the years? Uganda borders on regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo that have suffered numerous outbreaks of Ebola. The last of these was reported in August 2022. Uganda itself has experienced several past outbreaks. For these reasons the country has developed a functional surveillance system to flag and confirm suspicious cases early.

What useful lessons can Uganda offer based on previous experience? Public health messaging is critical and has worked well for Uganda in past outbreaks. Health education campaigns carry messages on prevention practices, manifestation of symptoms and what to do in case of contact or infection. Uganda has local laboratory capacity at the Uganda Virus Research Institute at Entebbe. The laboratory has the capacity to test and confirm whether suspect cases are indeed Ebola virus disease cases. Timely confirmation is important to trigger the rapid response required. This includes contact tracing, health education and care for those who are infected.

On top of this, rigorous contact tracing and treatment of confirmed cases costs money. So technical support and resources need to be made available.

Source: Healthcare Press (healthcarepress.net)

 

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