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2mo ago

Second Ebola Death in Uganda Highlights Challenges in Containing Outbreak

A four-year-old child has died from the Sudan strain of Ebola, raising concerns over the effectiveness of surveillance and funding cuts impacting response efforts.

Rita Ninsiina, ebola survivor, leaving the isolation centre at Mulago Referral Hospital in Kampala, Uganda Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Hajarah Nalwadda)

Overview

  • Uganda has reported its second Ebola death in the current outbreak, involving a four-year-old child who passed away after receiving treatment in Kampala.
  • The outbreak, declared on January 30, involves the Sudan strain of Ebola, for which no approved vaccine exists, complicating containment efforts.
  • Health officials had been optimistic after discharging eight patients earlier in February, but the source of the outbreak remains under investigation.
  • The World Health Organization has allocated $3 million to Uganda's response, yet funding constraints have arisen due to significant cuts in USAID contracts, affecting NGO support for disease surveillance.
  • Ebola, a viral hemorrhagic fever spread through contact with infected bodily fluids, has caused multiple outbreaks in Uganda, with the most recent in 2022 claiming 55 lives.