Uganda has reported 14 confirmed Ebola cases in the greater Kampala area, the country’s health minister said Monday, but tried to reassure concerned residents that the situation in the capital was under control.
So far, the death toll across the country from the Ebola epidemic, which was declared at the end of September, has risen to 44, according to World Health Organization figures released last week.
Uganda’s Ministry of Health now says there have been a total of 90 confirmed cases and 28 deaths.
Health Minister Ruth Jane Aceng told AFP that there have been 14 confirmed cases in the Kampala region over the past 48 hours, including nine who were contacts of a fatality from Kassanda, one of two central districts at the heart of the outbreak.
She said of the nine infected, seven were family members from Masanafu, a densely populated slum area in Kampala that’s near the Kasubi Royal Tombs, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and not far from two of Uganda’s two main private universities.
President Yoweri Museveni earlier this month ordered a lockdown on Kassanda and Mubende, the epicenter of the outbreak, and imposed a travel ban, a curfew and the closure of public places.
But Aceng told AFP on Monday: “The situation in Kampala is still under control and (there is) no need to restrict people’s movements.”
– ‘Disease is in our midst’ –
Residents in the capital, a city of about 1.5 million on the edge of Lake Victoria, said they were concerned.
“It’s getting even scarier now that Kampala is registering Ebola cases,” said Rebecca Nanyonga, a 27-year-old mother of two.
“The government hasn’t done much to raise awareness of Ebola among Kampala residents,” she said. “Parties and music concerts are still being held, but the disease is in our midst.”
Ebola is spread through bodily fluids, with common symptoms such as fever, vomiting, bleeding and diarrhea, and is being controlled through tried and tested methods of tracking, containment and quarantine. Outbreaks are difficult to contain, especially in urban settings.
Uganda’s last death from a previous Ebola outbreak occurred in 2019.
The particular strain now circulating in Uganda is known as the Sudan Ebola virus, for which there is currently no vaccine.
The WHO has said clinical trials of drugs targeting the Sudan strain could begin within weeks.
The Ebola crisis follows the Covid-19 pandemic, which has hit the landlocked country’s economy hard.
“I had relaxed when the Covid-19 cases went down. I am now resetting restrictions, including visitors in my home,” said Ronald Kibwika, a 45-year-old businessman from Kampala.
Uganda has had more than 169,200 Covid cases and 3,630 deaths, according to the WHO.
“We are at God’s mercy when Ebola cases increase in Kampala because most people don’t take proper care and health care is still poor,” said Anita Kwikiriza, 31, a businesswoman from Kampala.
