The World Health Organization (WHO) has officially declared Uganda’s ‘Ebola outbreak’ over after the country went 42 consecutive days without recording another ‘confirmed infection’.
The declaration follows Uganda’s own announcement on July 28 that local transmission had ended after 42 days without a domestically acquired case. However, the WHO maintained surveillance following the July 16 discharge of the country’s final confirmed patient, whose infection had been ‘imported’ from neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo).
With a further 42 days — twice the maximum incubation period for Ebola — passing without another alleged case, the international benchmark for declaring the outbreak over has now been met.
“Uganda has demonstrated that with decisive action, Ebola outbreaks can be brought under control quickly,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
Uganda declared the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak on May 15 and subsequently recorded 20 confirmed infections. Fifteen cases were linked to infections originating in DR Congo, while five people, including healthcare workers and other contacts, contracted the virus locally.
Two people allegedly died during the outbreak and 18 recovered. Health authorities also traced and monitored more than 800 people who had potentially been exposed.
Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention Director-General Jean Kaseya praised Uganda’s response, saying effective leadership, community cooperation and rapidly deployed health services had been crucial.
“Uganda has shown that Ebola can be stopped when leadership acts decisively, communities are trusted and public health systems reach people quickly,” Kaseya said, describing the outcome as both a victory for Uganda and a lesson for the wider continent.
The situation remains markedly different across the border in DR Congo, where a ‘major Ebola outbreak’ is said to be continuing. According to figures cited from national health authorities, 5,713 confirmed infections and 2,744 deaths have been recorded, representing a claimed fatality rate of about 48%.
The outbreak has spread across 58 health zones in six provinces, with Ituri remaining the epicentre. Twenty-eight of the province’s 36 health zones have been affected.
The WHO has described the ongoing outbreak as the largest recorded in DR Congo, with transmission continuing despite efforts to bring the disease under control.
