Uganda officially Ebola-free, 42 days after last patient discharged

Ten weeks after identifying two cases of Ebola, Uganda is officially free of the virus.

A total of 20 cases were confirmed in the country since May 15, when neighboring DR Congo announced an outbreak of the disease.

It’s now been 42 days since the last patient was discharged - the period recommended by the World Health Organization to declare the country Ebola-free.

Kampala has maintained since the outset that its cases were all linked to the outbreak in the DRC’s eastern Ituri province, which borders Uganda. And the first patients had entered the country from Congo before knowing they were infected.

Authorities acted quickly to prevent further transmission, cancelling large events, telling people to stop shaking hands, and suspending public transportation and flights between Uganda and Congo.

All known contacts with infected patients have been quarantined and subject to a 21-day follow-up without further evidence of transmission, Uganda’s Health Ministry said on Tuesday.

The picture is very different in the DRC, where the virus continues to spread. More than 3,000 cases have been confirmed, including some 1,400 deaths.