Uganda set to discharge final Ebola patient

After discharging its last Ebola patient on Thursday, Uganda starts a 42-day countdown to declaring the country free of the virus.

Under World Health Organization guidelines, a country is officially Ebola-free if no new cases are confirmed within that time period.

Since the latest Ebola outbreak was announced in May, Uganda has reported 20 confirmed cases including two deaths and one probable case who has died. No new cases have been reported in the country since June 21.

All of the confirmed cases were linked to transmission originating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), according to the WHO, with evidence of imported infections and secondary transmission among contacts and healthcare workers.

The outbreak in the DRC, however, is still evolving, with sustained transmission and increasing numbers of reported cases.

As of July 11, more than 2,000 cases have been confirmed, including more than 700 deaths - the fastest growth in a single month of any Ebola outbreak, according to the WHO.

“Over the last few days, we've seen some of the highest numbers of new infections in a single day,” Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu Executive Director of the WHO said on Tuesday, including more than 80 cases confirmed in 24 hours.

“You have to imagine that this is a fire,” Dr Ihekweazu said. “There's something driving the fire in its heart, and it's also expanding at the same time.”