Uganda has had several outbreaks of the Ebola virus starting in 2000 – 2001 (Sudan ebolavirus), 2007–2008 (Bundibugyo ebolavirus), 2011 (Sudan ebolavirus), 2012 (Sudan ebolavirus), 2012–2013 (Sudan ebolavirus), 2018–2020 (Zaire ebolavirus) and the most recent outbreak in September 20, 2022 at Mubende.
The Ministry of Health this week declared the end of Uganda’s most recent Ebola outbreak. But is Uganda really Ebola free?
According to experts from the UK Health Security Agency however, the Ebola virus can persist in some areas of the body even after acute illness. These areas include the testes, interior of the eyes, placenta, and central nervous system. Transmission via sexual contact with a convalescent case or survivor has been documented.
The UK Health Security Agency adds that, “The virus can be present in semen for many months even after recovery.”
The UK health security Agency warning is similar to that of the Minister of Health’s Dr. Ruth Aceng in October 2022.
Aceng warned survivors against unprotected sex as they risk spreading the ebola virus to their partners.
“So you have to be very careful if you decide that you’re going to use a condom please, the best is to protect your wife and protect all the other women. As I have told you, you may have your negative certificate, but somewhere there, it will be hidden,” Aceng said
What you firstly need to know about the Ebola Virus Disease.
According to the UK Security Agency the Ebola virus disease (EVD) is a severe disease caused by the Ebola virus, a member of the filovirus family, which occurs in humans and other primates. The disease was identified in 1976, in almost simultaneous outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Sudan (now South Sudan).
According to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention Ebola occurred in the Équateur province, with most cases occurring within 70 km of Yambuku village. The index case was treated at the Yambuku Mission Hospital with an injection for possible malaria. Subsequent transmission followed through use of contaminated needles and syringes at the hospital and clinics in the area and close personal contact.
In South Sudan, formally called Sudan before its split in 2011, the Sudan Ebola virus outbreak also occurred.
The CDC says;
“The outbreak occurred in the towns of Nzara, Maridi, and surrounding areas. The outbreak is believed to have started with workers in a cotton factory where 37% of workers in the cloth room were infected.”
Still in the same year, in the United Kingdom 1976, the Species – Zaire Ebola virus case was evident in a laboratory infection by an accidental injection from a contaminated needle and only one person was reported to be possessing the virus.
Worst Ebola outbreak
On March 23, 2014, southeastern Guinea marked the beginning of the West Africa Ebola epidemic making a total of 28,616 cases of EVD and 11,310 deaths reported in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. This marked the first largest Ebola Virus Disease the world has ever had over decades. The initial patient reported in December 2013, was a one and a half year old boy from a small village in Guinea who was believed to have been infected by bats.
In addition, the weak surveillance systems and poor public health infrastructure contributed to this outbreak and it quickly spread to Guinea’s bordering countries, Liberia and Sierra Leone, spreading to the capitals of all three countries providing an unmatched opportunity for transmission to other countries that included; Italy through an Italian healthcare worker who had volunteered in an Ebola Treatment Unit in Sierra Leone developed symptoms of EVD 72 hours after returning to Rome, Mali – During the West African Ebola epidemic, an infected traveler from Guinea brought EVD into Mali, Nigeria – an infected person traveling from Monrovia, Liberia brought EVD into Lagos, Nigeria, Senegal, united Kingdom, united States are some of the countries to which the Ebola Virus destined itself through its carriers whether health workers or travelers from these greatly affected places.
Much as Uganda has been declared Ebola Virus free, Precautions should not stop, residents should continue to maintain proper hygiene, avoid touching on public surfaces and report any unusual cases of illnesses.
All efforts to reach the Ministry of health for comment on this story were futile as the Ministry’s spokesperson’s
