Ugandan health worker dies of Ebola, death toll rises to 10

Uganda on Wednesday confirmed the death of a health worker from Ebola, bringing the total death toll from the highly contagious virus to 10.

The latest death came two weeks after the government announced a flash.

Health Minister Jane Ruth Acheng Osera said the 58-year-old anesthetist officer died of Ebola early Wednesday.

“The deceased Margaret is the fourth health worker we have lost in the current Ebola outbreak,” the minister said on Twitter after the death of the Tanzanian doctor, paramedic and midwife.

In accordance with Ministry of HealthIn the latest update on Monday, the total number of cases identified in the East African country stood at 43.

Since the initial outbreak was detected in Mubende Central District, infections have been detected in Kasanda, Kyegegwa and Kagadi.

But President Yoweri Museveni has vowed not to impose any shutdowns to fight the disease, saying last week there was “no need to worry”.

Museveni said about 19 others classified as probable Ebola cases had also died, but said they had been buried before they could be tested for the infection.

Ebola is an often fatal viral hemorrhagic fever named after the river in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where it was discovered in 1976.

Transmission from person to person occurs through a cross-pathway body fluidswith the main symptoms being fever, vomiting, bleeding and diarrhea.

Outbreaks are difficult to control, especially in urban environments.

Infected people do not become contagious until they develop symptoms, which happens after an incubation period from two to 21 days.

There are currently no licensed drugs to prevent or treat Ebola, although a number of experimental drugs are in development.

Uganda, which shares a porous border with the DRC, has experienced several Ebola outbreaks, the most recent in 2019 when at least five people died.

Last week, the DRC declared an end to the Ebola virus outbreak that emerged in the eastern part of North Kivu province six weeks ago.

The worst epidemic in West Africa killed more than 11,300 people between 2013 and 2016. DRC has had more than a dozen epidemics, the deadliest of which claimed 2,280 lives in 2020.

© 2022 AFP