A person has now died in the capital Kampala. “It’s one case. And now it is important to pay close attention to what is happening in Kampala. But it is not the first time that Uganda has been hit by an Ebola outbreak.”
And with past outbreaks, Uganda and other African countries are prepared to deal with epidemics, correspondent Aida Grovestins said. In this case, you have to be very quick. If the outbreak gets bigger, it will be difficult to control it. And a major problem is that there is not enough protective clothing for the medical staff. Four doctors have already died from the virus.
Grovestins emphasizes the importance of international aid to nip the virus in the bud. “The World Health Organization is done with a team. The first case was on September and three days later you saw cases in five different areas. The infections have been going on for a long time. So that makes it an extra big job that requires a lot of people.”
The estimate for the risk of a worldwide spread is still low, says Koopmans. “That could change if you start seeing undetected cases or spread in Kampala.”