Ebola outbreak in Uganda: WHO concerned about new variant
Created: 10/27/2022, 3:02 p.m
September 29, 2022, Uganda, Mubende: Two doctors in protective suits go to the Ebola isolation area of the Mubende Regional Referral Hospital.
© Hajarah Nalwadda/AP/dpa +++ dpa picture radio +++
The WHO is currently concerned about an Ebola outbreak of the dangerous Sudan variant in Uganda.
Because there are no vaccines or medicines.
Kampala - At least since the coronavirus pandemic, it has been clear that global health concerns everyone.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is correspondingly alarmed by the Ebola outbreak in the East African country of Uganda.
Apparently, only limited help can be provided at the moment, because there are neither special vaccines nor medicines against the Sudan variant - and there is also no money for hygiene articles.
The number of deaths is increasing: No vaccination or medication yet
The number of deaths from an Ebola infection with the Sudan variant has risen to 31, according to information from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) on Thursday.
There are at least 109 confirmed cases in total.
Last week, the President of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, imposed an entry and exit ban from the hardest-hit districts of Mubende and Kassanda in the center of the country.
He also announced a night curfew.
Vaccines already exist for some Ebola viruses.
According to the WHO, however, there is still no effective and approved vaccine against the dangerous Sudan variant, nor are there any drugs.
The country is currently working with contact tracing.
The Ministry of Health set up a task force, supported by the WHO, which also takes care of monitoring and active case finding.
Uganda itself has experience in responding to outbreaks of Ebola disease and has "quickly put in place" the necessary responses, according to the WHO.
Ebola Outbreak: Local Volunteers Take Information Campaign Into Their Own Hands
In addition to the lack of vaccines and medicines, there also appears to be a lack of hygiene products.
According to the UN refugee agency UNHCR, it is currently unable to procure enough soap and hygiene products to fight the deadly disease.
Accordingly, up to 700 million US dollars (about 708 million euros) are missing by the end of the year.
"This is a real, immediate emergency call with people's lives and livelihoods at stake," said UNHCR Director Dominique Hyde.
Volunteers from the local communities are therefore now getting involved themselves. In information campaigns, they explain to their fellow citizens the importance of washing hands and share general information about Ebola, as the Red Cross Uganda announced.
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The EU health authority is currently assuming that there is a local infection process
The EU health authority EDCD assumes that the infection is local due to the low number of cases.
The WHO also currently assesses the international risk as low.
However, the overall national risk in Uganda is high, particularly due to the long incubation period of up to 21 days.
The current Ebola outbreak became known after a 24-year-old man died at the end of September.
After his death, the rare Sudan variant of the virus was detected in the patient.
According to the World Health Organization, it is the first outbreak of this type in Uganda since 2012. Ebola has one of the deadliest infection rates in the world, with around 25 to 90 percent of those infected dying.
From 2014 to 2016 there was the largest recorded outbreak of the virus infection in West Africa.
According to the Robert Koch Institute, more than 11,000 of the 28,000 patients died at that time.
Ebola is transmitted through direct physical contact and often causes high fever and internal bleeding.