Ebola outbreak in Uganda expands to 14 cases, second death reported

A new death and five additional cases of Ebola have been reported in a newly identified cluster linked to an ongoing outbreak in Uganda, bringing the total number of cases to 14, according to the African Union health agency.

The new cases were confirmed by the Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) in an update on Thursday. Of the 14 total cases, two deaths have been confirmed, while eight individuals have recovered. Two cases are classified as probable.

A total of 69 contacts in the new cluster have been identified and placed under quarantine. The outbreak has now spread to five districts, an increase of two since the last update from Africa CDC.

The new cases are linked to the death of a 4-year-old boy. Currently, there is no known connection between this cluster and the previous one, but genetic sequencing has confirmed that both involve the same strain of the virus.

The first confirmed case in the outbreak was a 32-year-old male nurse employed at Mulago National Referral Hospital in Kampala. He initially developed fever-like symptoms on January 19 and sought treatment at multiple health facilities, including from a traditional healer, while symptomatic.

His condition deteriorated, progressing to bleeding from multiple body sites, according to Uganda’s Ministry of Health. He suffered multi-organ failure and died at Mulago Hospital on January 29.

Sudan Ebolavirus disease is a severe and often fatal illness that affects humans and other primates. It is caused by Orthoebolavirus sudanense (Sudan virus), a viral species belonging to the same genus as the pathogen responsible for Ebola virus disease. Case fatality rates for Sudan virus disease have ranged from 41% to 100% in past outbreaks.

There have been eight previous outbreaks of the Sudan Ebola virus, with five occurring in Uganda and three in Sudan, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Uganda’s last Ebola outbreak occurred in 2022.

The 2022 outbreak resulted in 77 deaths out of 164 reported cases across nine districts. In Kampala, 19 cases were recorded, including three deaths, according to a post-evaluation study published in The Lancet.