Young child becomes second person to die of Ebola in Uganda

A four-year-old child became the second person to die of Ebola in Uganda since the outbreak was announced in late January, the World Health Organization said on Saturday.

On Tuesday, Ugandan health officials confirmed that the country had recorded 10 infections with the Sudan strain of the virus.

The death of the child is seen as a setback for health officials who had hoped the highly infectious disease had been “contained” after eight people had recovered following treatment.

The child passed away at the Mulago Hospital in the capital, Kampala, the only facility in the country for dealing with Ebola cases.

The first victim was a male nurse who died the day before the outbreak was declared on 30 January.

Symptoms of the often fatal disease include fever, headaches, muscle pains, and bleeding. The virus is transmitted through contact with infected bodily fluids and tissue.

Contract tracing is key to stemming the spread of Ebola and the WHO said it and others were working to strengthen this together with surveillance.

There are no approved vaccines for the Sudan strain, however a vaccination trial was launched in Uganda earlier this month

The WHO has given Uganda at least $3 million to support its Ebola response, but there are concerns about funding in the wake of the US administration’s decision to cut funding to USAID.

Uganda’s last outbreak, discovered in September 2022, killed at least 55 people before it was declared over in January 2023.

More than 15,000 people have died of Ebola in Africa in the past  50 years.

It was discovered in 1976 in simultaneous outbreaks in South Sudan and Congo, where it occurred in a village near the Ebola River, after which the disease is named.