Uganda confirms its first case of Ebola since the outbreak of the virus in Congo

KAMPALA, Uganda – A child in Uganda has tested positive for Ebola in the first cross-border case of the deadly virus since the beginning of an epidemic in neighboring Congo last year, said Tuesday the Ugandan health ministry, injuring the Efforts made by health workers to prevent contamination across the busy border.

The five-year-old Congolese boy was isolated with family members in a hospital in a western district near the border with Congo, Ugandan Minister of Health Jane Aceng told reporters. Two family members have been tested for the Ebola virus after developing symptoms, with results expected Wednesday.

The announcement puts new pressure on the World Health Organization to declare the Ebola epidemic – the second deadliest in history – a global health emergency. The epidemic is set amid unprecedented challenges of rebel attacks and resistance from the community in an area that had never experienced the Ebola virus before.

In April, a committee of WHO experts decided that the outbreak, although worrisome, was not yet a global health emergency. But international spread is one of the main criteria that the UN agency considers before such a declaration.

It was not immediately obvious when the boy entered Uganda. According to a statement by the WHO, he entered Sunday with his family through the Bwera border post. He sought treatment at the Kagando hospital and was transferred to the Bwera Ebola treatment unit, the WHO said.

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The confirmation of the Ebola virus was made Tuesday by the Uganda Virus Institute. "The Ministry of Health and the WHO have sent a rapid intervention team to Kasese to identify other people likely to be at risk," said the spokesman. 39; WHO.

The Congolese Minister of Health, in a separate statement, said the boy from Mabalako arrived Monday at the Kasindi border crossing in Congo. A dozen family members appeared to have symptoms and were transferred to an isolation center at the local hospital for observation.

Six family members then separated as they were transferred to an Ebola treatment center in Beni and entered Uganda while Congolese border authorities alerted their Ugandan colleagues, the Congolese ministry of health said. the health. Ugandan officials found family members at Kagando Hospital, where the boy's Ebola case was confirmed.

Officials from both countries will meet Wednesday on the possibility of returning the family to Beni Congo to be treated, announced the Ministry of Health.

It is unclear how family members were able to cross the border, where millions of travelers have already been screened for Ebola since the beginning of the epidemic. WHO has advised against travel restrictions.

Since August, more than 2,000 confirmed and probable Ebola cases have been reported in the Congo, resulting in nearly 1,400 deaths. The disease is spread mainly through contact with the body fluids of infected people.

For the first time, an experimental but effective Ebola vaccine is widely used, with more than 130,000 doses distributed. Uganda has vaccinated nearly 4,700 health workers, WHO said.

The East African nation has experienced several epidemics of Ebola fever and other haemorrhagic fevers since 2000.

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"The spread of the Ebola virus at the international border is a clear sign that the international community must redouble its efforts" to fight the disease, the International Rescue Committee said in a statement saying "extremely alarmed".