The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that scientists have yet to determine how a Ugandan health worker contracted the Sudan virus disease, ultimately leading to their death.
During a meeting on Thursday, Otim Patrick Ramadan, a Health Emergency Officer at the WHO Africa office, disclosed that a team of epidemiologists has been dispatched to various health facilities where the deceased worker was employed to help identify the source of the current outbreak. The teams are currently reviewing medical records to trace the patients the nurse interacted with and their clinical presentations.
The nurse, who worked at the National Referral Hospital in Mulago and several private health facilities, succumbed to complications from viral hemorrhagic disease on January 29. Since then, laboratory tests have confirmed that six other individuals have contracted the disease.
As of Tuesday, a total of 298 individuals, including health workers and family members of the deceased, have been identified across several districts, including Kampala, Mbale, and Wakiso. However, it remains unclear how many of these individuals have been confirmed positive or released, as the Health Ministry has been slow to disseminate such information.
When questioned about the latest figures at a news conference in Mbale on Wednesday, Health Minister Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng stated that releasing numbers was not crucial, promising that updates on the outbreak would be provided to the media and the public every two weeks.
This situation is particularly concerning given Uganda’s prior global recognition for its transparency and effective communication during public health emergencies. Public health experts emphasize that risk communication is vital for interrupting further transmission of the virus.
Otim reiterated the importance of informing communities, enabling them to assess their risks and take necessary precautions.
Currently, eight districts have been classified as very high risk. This marks Uganda’s eighth Ebola outbreak, with six of those linked to the Sudan virus. The previous outbreak began in September 2022, originating in the districts of Mubende and Kassanda before spreading to at least seven other districts.
As sequencing and surveillance efforts continue to pinpoint the exact source of the current outbreak, Dr. Ngashi Ngongo, Head of the Africa Center for Disease Control (Africa CDC), noted at a news conference that it is possible that transmission may have been ongoing but undetected since the previous outbreak.