Uganda discharged its last eight Ebola patients on Tuesday, marking a significant step toward containing an outbreak declared last month, health authorities said.
The World Health Organization hailed the recoveries as a milestone, crediting Uganda’s swift response to the crisis. Most of the patients received treatment at the main referral facility in the capital, Kampala.
The only fatality from the outbreak was a male nurse who died on Jan. 30, the day before the official declaration. His relatives were among those later hospitalized with the virus.
Health Minister Jane Ruth Aceng said officials traced at least 265 contacts linked to the initial infection, with 90 people completing a quarantine period during which they were monitored for symptoms.
There are no approved vaccines for the Sudan strain of Ebola, which was responsible for the latest outbreak. However, authorities have launched a clinical study to test the safety and efficacy of a trial vaccine as part of efforts to halt the spread of the virus.
Uganda’s previous Ebola outbreak, which began in September 2022, killed at least 55 people before being declared over four months later.
Ebola spreads through contact with bodily fluids of an infected person or contaminated materials. Symptoms include fever, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle pain, and, in some cases, internal and external bleeding.