WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th June, 2019) The first case of Ebola has been confirmed in Uganda in a child who traveled from the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where health officials have been battling an outbreak of the deadly disease since August 2018, the UN World Health Organization announced on Tuesday.
"The confirmed case is a 5-year-old child from the Democratic Republic of the Congo who traveled with his family on 9th June 2019," the WHO said in a press release. "The child and his family entered the country through Bwera Border post and sought medical care at Kagando hospital where health workers identified Ebola as a possible cause of illness."
The confirmation was made on Monday by the Uganda Virus Institute (UVRI), the release said.
The Uganda Ministry of Health and WHO have dispatched a Rapid Response Team to identify other people who may be at risk from contact with the victim, and ensure they are monitored and provided with care if they become ill, the release added.
In preparation for a possible imported case during the current outbreak in DRC, Uganda has vaccinated nearly 4,700 health workers in 165 health facilities (including in the facility where the child is being cared for); disease monitoring has been intensified; and health workers trained on recognizing symptoms of the disease, according to the release.
Since August 2018, when the first batch of Ebola cases was reported in the DRC, 1,945 cases of Ebola have been confirmed with 1,302 deaths as of May 28, according to the WHO.
The largest Ebola outbreak took place in West Africa in 2014-2015, with more than 11,000 people dying and some 28,000 cases reported.
Ebola kills by causing massive internal bleeding.
