Ebola infections have surged in Uganda’s districts, bringing the cumulative number of confirmed and suspected deaths to 23, health officials in the east African country said on Monday.
The country declared an Ebola outbreak last Tuesday (20) after a case of the relatively rare Sudan strain was detected in Mubende district.
The virus has now spread to neighboring Kyegegwa and Kassanda districts, with Uganda’s Ministry of Health reporting that cumulative cases have increased to 36, including confirmed and probable cases. No cases were detected in the capital Kampala.
The Uganda Ministry of Health considers a “probable case” to be any person who died of suspected EVD (Ebola) and had an epidemiological link to a confirmed case, but was not tested and had no laboratory confirmation.
The agency considers “confirmed cases” those with positive laboratory results. Of the number of infections identified so far, 18 of the cases were confirmed as infected, while another 18 were suspected of having the virus.
The ministry said five of the deceased patients were confirmed to have died from the virus, while 18 were listed as probable deaths. Currently, about 35 patients are hospitalized, he added.
Uganda has experienced four Ebola outbreaks. The deadliest left more than 200 people dead in 2000.
According to the World Health Organization, vaccination against the rare Sudan strain has not been tested for effectiveness. However, the Ervebo vaccine (rVSV-ZEBOV) was found to be effective in protecting against the Zaire variant of the Ebola virus.
Source: CNN Brasil
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