Following the confirmation of an outbreak of Sudan virus disease – which belongs to the same family as the Ebola virus disease – in Uganda on Thursday, the World Health Organisation said it is mobilising efforts to support the national health authorities to swiftly contain and end the outbreak.

WHO said it is deploying senior public health experts and mobilising staff from the country office to support all the key outbreak response measures in a statement on its website.

“In addition, the organisation has allocated $1 million from its Contingency Fund for Emergencies to help accelerate early action and is readying medical supplies, including personal protective equipment to deliver to Uganda from its Emergency Response Hub in Nairobi.

So far, one confirmed case – a nurse from Mulago National Referral Hospital in the capital Kampala – has been reported. No other health workers or patients have shown symptoms of the disease. A total of 45 contacts, including health workers and family members of the confirmed case (deceased) have been identified and are currently under close monitoring. The identification of the case in a densely populated urban requires a rapid and intense response,” the statement noted.

There have been eight previous outbreaks of the Sudan virus disease, with five occurring in Uganda and three in Sudan. Uganda last reported an outbreak of Sudan virus disease in 2022.

https://healthwise.punchng.com/who-allocates-1-million-to-combat-ebola-outbreak-in-uganda/