No Ebola in West Nile says Health Minister

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Health Minister, Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng says no ebola-related death has been registered in West Nile region’s Arua district. She however says Uganda has stepped up vigilance as the ebola virus disease spreads further in Democratic Republic of Congo.

Arua district in Uganda shares a border with Ariwara health zone but many have according to the Minister mistaken it to be in Uganda.

Dr.Aceng says Uganda already built capacity in the districts bordering DRC and that preparedness efforts were beefed following the reported death in DRC’s Ariwara area almost 460 kilometer North of DRC’s North Kivu province.

A team of Ebola vaccinators was dispatched from Kasese district to beef up the vaccination of the front-line health workers in Arua and neighboring districts.

She says it is important the districts along Uganda- DRC border especially Arua, Maracha and Yumbe among others to mobilize and sensitize the communities about the latest Ebola threat from Congo.

The World Health Organization’s latest report said no ebola virus disease cases or deaths have been reported in Uganda since the previous deaths in Kasese district in June.

The report says as of 26 June, 108 exposed contacts had been identified, and they were in the process of completing the 21-day follow-up period.

All the contacts according to the WHO have not shown any symptoms of ebola to date and that all the 14 suspected cases tested negative for Ebola Virus Disease.

Meanwhile WHO says the outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in North Kivu and Ituri provinces, Democratic Republic of the Congo continued with a steady transmission intensity this week.

It said the current hotspots are the DRC’s health zones of Beni, Mabalako, and Mandima, with some cases being exported from these hot spot areas into unaffected health zones.

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