Ebola outbreak in Uganda
Again, an Ebola outbreak is hitting Uganda, frightening patients and health care workers all over Uganda as it is spreading to the capital Kampala.
After weeks of speculations, the WHO stated the Ebola virus is to be blamed for the 14 deaths in the Kibaale district, the western part of Uganda.
Laboratory investigations done at the Uganda Virus Research Institute…have confirmed that the strange disease reported in Kibaale is indeed Ebola hemorrhagic fever,
The Ebola virus is one of the Filoviridae family (filovirus) which is sorted into five species; Zaïre, Sudan, Côte d’Ivoire, Bundibugyo and Reston.
The virus is found in Rain Forest Africa and in some parts of the Western Pacific.
Transmission: The virus is transmitted by blood, body secrements, organs and other body fluids from infected persons.
Incubation: The incubation period is between two and twenty one days.
Symptoms: The virus is causing a sudden fever, weakness, muscle pains and a sore throat. It is often followed by diarrhoea, vomiting, impaired liver and kidney function and can result in internal/external bleeding.
Treatment: Unfortunately there is no cure yet for the Ebola haemorrhagic fever, patients are getting if available a symptomatic treatment which contains intravenous rehydration.
In total there are 20 cases reported since the beginning of July, killing 14 persons, including a clinical officer and a family of nine.
The WHO is reporting that the ministry of health (MoH) of Uganda is working, together with NGOs to control the outbreak. An isolation ward is installed in Kibaale hospital together with Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF). The Red Cross Uganda is currently training 100 volunteers to inform vulnerable communities about transmission and symptoms of the disease.
It is not the first time Uganda needs to deal with an Ebola outbreak; in 2000 Uganda lost 224 people with a recurrence of the disease in 2007, taking the lives of 40 Ugandans.
