Uganda confirms three new Ebola cases, WHO warns against underestimating epidemic risks

Uganda confirmed three new Ebola cases on Saturday, bringing the total number of infections in the country’s current outbreak to five, as authorities stepped up contact tracing efforts to curb the spread of the rare Bundibugyo strain.According to Uganda’s Ministry of Health, the new cases include a driver transporting the country’s first confirmed Ebola patient and a health worker who was infected while caring for the patient. Both were identified as known contacts and are currently receiving treatment, Reuters reported.The third confirmed case is a woman from the Democratic Republic of Congo who entered Uganda with mild abdominal symptoms. Authorities said she traveled from Arua, near the border, to Entebbe before seeking treatment at a private hospital in Kampala.The health ministry said the woman initially showed signs of recovery and returned to Congo, but later tested positive for Ebola following a follow-up investigation based on information provided by the pilot involved in transporting her.“All identified contacts of confirmed cases are being closely monitored,” the ministry said, urging the public to remain vigilant and report suspicious symptoms.The World Health Organization has declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern and warned that the risk of an outbreak across Congo remains “very high.”Uganda’s neighboring Congo remains the epicenter of the outbreak, with nearly 750 suspected cases and 177 suspected deaths reported.Delays in testing, a lack of vaccines against the Bundibuggio strain or treatments for the virus, widespread armed violence and high mobility of the population make Congo particularly vulnerable, the World Health Organization said.This comes after the World Health Organization’s Africa director Mohamed Yakub Janabi warned on Friday not to underestimate the epidemic, saying doing so would be a big mistake. “It would be a big mistake to underestimate it, especially for a virus with this strain, Bundibugyo, for which we have no vaccine,” he said.“So I would really encourage everyone, let’s help each other, we can control this,” he added.Janabi also said the Ebola outbreak in Congo has received relatively limited international attention compared with this month’s hantavirus outbreak linked to cruise ship passengers from 23 countries.He further warned that even one case of Ebola exposure could trigger wider transmission beyond Congo and Uganda, saying: “You only need one case of exposure to put us all at risk.”