Uganda Confirms Six New Ebola Cases

Uganda’s health ministry has confirmed six new Ebola cases.

This comes after officials confirmed an outbreak in the country earlier in the week.

The new cases were reported in the central district of Mubende where a 24-year-old man was confirmed dead on Tuesday after showing symptoms of the disease.

The authorities are also investigating whether seven other deaths, including that of a one-year-old girl, were due to Ebola.

While the six new cases, one was reported from a neighbouring district.

This is the third outbreak of the Ebola Sudan strain in Uganda.

The incident management commander from the health ministry, Kyobe Bbosa said over 40 people who contacted a family that reported some of the cases have been traced.

While eleven of them are in isolation.

Meanwhile, neighbouring countries said they were on high alert in case the disease spread across the borders.

Experts say that the Ebola Sudan strain historically has lower levels of transmission, infections, and deaths compared to the Ebola Zaire strain.

Report says Ugandan authorities have continued to assure the public and the international community that they have the capacity to contain the epidemic.

BBC/MO/CO