Africa Centre for Disease Control, on Thursday, said the Ebola outbreak in Uganda could spread but it was still manageable at this stage and emergency measures were not necessary.
Acting Director of Africa CDC, Ahmed Ogwell Ouma, told reporters at an online briefing that “the risk is there but it is a manageable risk,’’ adding that at this stage there was no need to go into “full emergency measures mode”.
There have been 60 confirmed and 20 probable cases since the outbreak began last month, and 44 deaths, the World Health Organisation said on Wednesday.
The strain spreading in Uganda is the Sudan strain, and the existing vaccines and therapies do not work against it.
Ouma said there were plans to launch vaccine trials but no timeframe for the tests had been confirmed.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Saturday said the government was implementing some lockdown measures.
Museveni said the measures include restricting movement and closing places of worship and entertainment, in Mubende and Kassanda districts in central Uganda, the epicentre of the epidemic.
NAN
