© REUTERS
In East African Uganda, the number of infections with the deadly Ebola virus increased further over the weekend. Another 14 new infections were reported in 48 hours. Nine of those cases have been reported in the capital Kampala. This was announced by Health Minister Jane Ruth Aceng on Twitter on Monday. This brings the total number of infections in Uganda to 75, of whom 28 have succumbed to the effects of the virus.
Bron: BELGIAN
Fourteen infected Ugandans have now been admitted to the reference hospital in Kampala. According to Aceng, these are contacts of someone from Kassanda, one of the most affected areas. That person recently died in hospital in Kampala.
Fears are mounting that the outbreak could spiral out of control in Kampala, as the number of reported cases in the capital rises.
Kassanda and Mubende, the two most affected regions, are under quarantine, but new infections continue to emerge.
At the end of September, news of the outbreak in Uganda became known, after the death of a 24-year-old man. The man’s death was linked to the rare Sudan variant of the Ebola virus.
The largest outbreak of the Ebola virus to date occurred in some West African countries from 2014 to 2016. 11,000 people died as a result. Since the discovery of the virus in the 1970s by, among others, the Belgian Peter Piot, Uganda’s neighboring country Congo has been hit by outbreaks more than ten times. The current outbreak is the fourth in Uganda.