Uganda declares Ebola outbreak after rare Sudan strain found in 24-year-old man

The Ugandan health ministry and World Health Organization (WHO) have declared an outbreak of Ebola after health authorities confirmed a case of the relatively rare Sudan strain.

A 24-year-old man in Uganda’s central Mubende district showed symptoms and later died.

Diana Atwine, the health ministry’s permanent secretary, said in a news conference that the patient with the confirmed case had high fever, diarrhoea and abdominal pains and was vomiting blood.

WHO’s Africa office said in a statement that there are currently eight suspected cases receiving care in a health facility while adding that it was helping Uganda’s health authorities with their investigation and have deployed competent staff to the affected area.

The WHO said there had been seven previous outbreaks of the Ebola Sudan strain, four in Uganda and three in Sudan.

It said Uganda last reported an outbreak of Ebola Sudan strain in 2012 and an outbreak of the Ebola Zaire strain in 2019.

First identified in 1976 in the Democratic Republic of Congo , the virus has killed not less than 15,000 people.

The virus human transmission is through body fluids, with the main symptoms being fever, vomiting, bleeding and diarrhoea.