Africa CDC, Africa’s top public health body, on Thursday said there is a risk that Uganda’s Ebola outbreak could spread but it was still manageable at this stage and emergency measures were not necessary, reported The Reuters.
Ebola “numbers that we are seeing do pose a risk for spread within the country and its neighbors,” Ahmed Ogwell Ouma, Acting Director of Africa CDC, told reporters during an online briefing.
Ouma said while the risk of cross-border contamination is there, “it’s a manageable risk.” He added that at this stage there was no need to go into full emergency measures mode.
Uganda declared an outbreak of Ebola last month after a person tested positive for the virus. Currently, there are no approved vaccines or treatments for the Sudan strain of ebola virus that has led to the outbreak.
On Wednesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) said there have been 60 confirmed and 20 probable cases since the outbreak began last month, and 44 deaths.
The Africa CDC director said there were plans to launch vaccine trials but no timeframe on the tests had been confirmed.
On Saturday, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said the government was implementing some lockdown measures, including restricting movement and closing places of worship and entertainment, in Mubende and Kassanda districts in central Uganda, the epicenter of the epidemic.
The Ugandan authorities claim the current ebola outbreak is concentrated to just two districts and has not spread to capital Kampala.
A 45-year-old man who fled from Mubende district died of Ebola in Kampala. His wife also tested Ebola positive. The health authorities stressed that Kampala was still Ebola-free as the two were exposed to the virus in Mubende.
President Museveni urged the people to cooperate with authorities to bring an end to the outbreak in the shortest possible time.
