The Ugandan government and the World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday formally declared the end of the Ebola outbreak detected less than four months ago, which has left 164 cases and 55 fatalities, according to official data.
The outbreak broke out in the district of Mubende, in the center of the country, and derives from the Ebola Sudan strain, an unprecedented event in the last decade and which «a priori» complicated the containment tasks, since the vaccines that have worked in other emergencies could not be used in this case.
The last patient detected was discharged on November 30, so this January 11 marks the 42-day deadline set by experts for the end of the outbreak. Health authorities will still maintain surveillance measures in order to respond quickly in case of a new suspected case.
The Ugandan Minister of Health, Jane Ruth Aceng Ocero, has applauded the «rapid» containment of the crisis, thanks to «key measures» such as «surveillance, contact tracing and infection prevention and control». However, for the minister, the most remarkable role is that of the local communities, which «understood the importance of doing what was necessary».
The Director General of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, applauded the mobilization of authorities and communities in Uganda to achieve «today’s victory over Ebola». «Uganda has shown that Ebola can be defeated when the whole system works together,» he added in a statement.
In this sense, the head of the organization for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti, warned that this outbreak seemed at the beginning «one of the most complicated» of the last five years, due to the lack of specific vaccines and therapeutic treatment, but has ended up giving the continent a reason for «great hope» at the beginning of 2023.
In fact, rapid international mobilization made it possible to identify three potential vaccines, of which more than 5,000 doses arrived in Uganda. Although they were not used in this outbreak, the speed of mobilization demonstrated the importance of collaboration between different actors, according to WHO.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
