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WHO to help Uganda fight new Ebola outbreak

Kampala, Jan 31 (Prensa Latina) The World Health Organization (WHO) has deployed a medical team to Uganda to help fight a new outbreak of Ebola, medical sources said.

A statement issued Thursday in the capital reported that WHO staff will offer technical and logistical support to the Ugandan Ministry of Health, which announced the reappearance of the disease after the death of a nurse at the Mulago National Referral Hospital in Kampala.

The WHO indicated that it is working closely with Ugandan health authorities toward a surveillance and case management system, mobilizing communities, and offering communication about the risks.

According to reports, 45 contacts were registered, including 30 medical workers and patients at the Mulago Hospital, and relatives of the deceased, who should have been isolated to avoid further contagion.

Diana Atwine, permanent secretary at the Ministry of Health, said Ebola vaccination of all contacts of the deceased will begin immediately. She said health authorities control the situation, urging Ugandans to report suspected cases.

According to sources, this is the eighth outbreak of the disease in the country. The last one ended in 2023 after causing the death of 55 people.

Ebola is highly contagious and spreads through contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person or contaminated materials. It manifests as a fatal hemorrhagic fever. It was discovered in 1976 in two simultaneous outbreaks in South Sudan and Congo, where it occurred in a village near the Ebola River, from which it takes its name.

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