The president of the Uganda Medical Association, Samuel Oledo, has recommended that strict measures be considered to deal with the Ebola outbreak in the country.
Among the stringent measures, Oledo stressed the need to confine the capital, Kampala, he told Ugandan broadcaster KFM.
The doctor expressed his «fear» that the government is «sitting on a time bomb», while warning that «the worst is yet to come if nothing is done in the shortest possible time» in order to contain the spread of the virus.
«Kampala should have movement restrictions. The sooner we close Kampala, the better. Ugandans still take it as something minor, but it is catastrophic (…),» explained Oledo.
The country’s authorities announced Monday that the Ebola outbreak affecting Uganda has reached the metropolitan region of Kampala.
Since the first case was confirmed in Uganda on September 20, the government has recorded a total of 95 cases, according to the latest balance sheet released by the Ministry of Health. At least 28 patients have died, while authorities are monitoring more than 1,800 contacts to try to cut the chain of transmission of a potentially deadly disease.
The minister urged the population to remain «vigilant» and to alert the authorities in case of contact with a sick person. About 1.5 million people live in the capital alone, which would make containment even more essential to avoid an exponential increase in cases.
The government has also offered, in collaboration with the UN, training sessions for journalists to help raise awareness, which is key to containing the outbreak. Unlike previous emergencies in African countries, the strain detected in Uganda is Sudan, for which no vaccines have been developed.
