Uganda Ebola Outbreak: Capital Of Kamala Notes First Death

Illustration of treatment for Ebola patients. (Wikimedia Commons/Daniel Bausch/Division of Viral and Ricketsial Diseases/National Center for Infectious Diseases, CDC)

JAKARTA - An Ebola patient at a hospital in the capital Uganda, Kamala, is confirmed to have died according to the country's Ministry of Health.

Patients who died were the 19th of the total 54 Ebola cases in this epidemic. No other cases were recorded in the city, other than the victims who died.

Citing the BBC on October 12, the victims who died in Kamala are already known to authorities, potentially in contact with the virus.

Ugandan Health Minister Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng said the man was from out of town. He is known to have fled his village, disguised his identity and visited a shaman in different areas.

It said he arrived at the hospital in a severe illness. He died at the Kiruddu National Referral Hospital last Friday, but his death was confirmed.

In anticipation, the 40-two people he might have contact with have been identified and are being followed up.

It is known, the latest outbreak began last September, right in Mubende District. A 24-year-old man was the first known Ebola death, and six family members also died. Four health workers were also among the victims, including a doctor from Tanzania.

Medical officers previously expressed concern about the lack of adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) such as gloves and masks. They also called for Mubende to be quarantined. However, President Yoweri Museveni ruled out restrictions.

"Eball doesn't spread like (the virus) corona because it's not an air-borne disease."

To date, no Ebola vaccine has been effective, as Sudan's strain circulating in Uganda is in contrast to the Zaire strain that attacks West Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo and is immunizable.