Two new Ebola cases detected at health facilities in Kampala, Uganda; total number of cases rises to 7

Uganda’s health ministry said on Monday that it had detected two more confirmed cases of Ebola, bringing the total number of infections in the country’s current outbreak to seven, Reuters reported.The two new cases are health workers at a private medical facility in the capital, Kampala, and both are Ugandan nationals, according to a statement from the Ministry of Health.The latest infections come after three confirmed cases were reported on Saturday, bringing the total to five. These early cases include a driver who transported the first confirmed patient, a health worker who was exposed while treating the patient, and a Congolese woman who tested positive after recently returning to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.Health authorities said that as part of ongoing efforts to trace and contain chains of transmission, all identified contacts are being closely monitored, while infection control measures at health facilities have been strengthened.The outbreak involves the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola virus. this World Health Organization The outbreak has been declared a public health emergency of international concern and the risk of a nationwide outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo remains “very high”.Congo remains the epicenter of the outbreak, with nearly 750 suspected cases and 177 suspected deaths recorded.Delays in testing, a lack of vaccines or virus-specific treatments for the Bundibuggio strain, widespread armed violence and high population mobility make Congo particularly vulnerable, the World Health Organization said.Previously, WHO Africa Director Mohamed Yakub Janabi also warned against underestimating the epidemic, saying that doing so would be a “big mistake”, especially considering that there is no vaccine for the Bundibugyo strain.