By URN
Health officials in Kikuube District are tracing at least 30 people believed to have come into contact with an Ebola patient linked to the latest outbreak in Uganda.
The contacts are associated with a driver from Kikuube who transported the country’s first confirmed Ebola patient from Kasonga in Kyangwali Sub-county to Kibuli Hospital in Kampala through the Kikuube-Hoima route. The patient, a DRC national, later died at the hospital, and medical tests subsequently confirmed that the cause of death was Ebola Virus Disease.
According to Kikuube Resident District Commissioner and District Ebola Taskforce Chairperson Godwine Angalia, the driver later developed Ebola-like symptoms. Samples were taken for testing, and the results confirmed that he had contracted the virus. He is currently receiving treatment at Mulago National Referral Hospital.
Angalia said district health and security teams are now tracing approximately 30 contacts linked to the driver, including relatives and members of the wider community, in a bid to contain the spread of the virus.
On Tuesday, authorities in Kikuube temporarily closed Uganda’s border with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) over the same outbreak. The closure affects the Nsonga and Sebigoro border points on the shores of Lake Albert in Kyangwali and Kabwoya sub-counties, the main official crossing points between Kikuube District and eastern DRC.
The decision was reached by the District Security Committee and the District Ebola Taskforce as a precautionary public health measure aimed at preventing the possible spread of the disease into the district and other parts of Uganda.
All movement of people through the two border points has been suspended until further notice, although cargo transportation remains exempt from the restrictions.
Authorities have also intensified community sensitisation campaigns on Ebola prevention and symptoms, while surveillance and screening have been heightened at border entry points and landing sites, particularly at Nsonga, Buhuka, Sebigoro, and Kyehoro.
According to district officials, traders and residents from Tchomia, Kasenyi, Gobu, and Mukambu in Bunia District, Ituri Province in eastern DRC, frequently cross into Kikuube, Hoima, and Kampala for business activities. Officials noted that despite the outbreak in eastern DRC, some residents and traders continued using porous border routes to enter Uganda.
The Ministry of Health has classified districts along the Uganda-DRC border as high-risk areas because of frequent cross-border movement and porous entry points.
Health authorities say that the current outbreak involves the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, one of the rare Ebola virus strains for which there is currently no approved vaccine or specific treatment.
Ebola Virus Disease is a severe and often fatal illness transmitted through direct contact with infected bodily fluids, contaminated surfaces, or infected animals such as bats and non-human primates. The disease is not contagious until symptoms appear, and its incubation period ranges from two to 21 days.
Early symptoms include fever, weakness, headache, muscle pain, and sore throat. In severe cases, patients may develop vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, and unexplained bleeding or bruising.
According to health experts, Ebola case fatality rates range between 25 and over 70 percent depending on the virus strain and the quality of medical care available. Although there is no universally approved cure, early supportive treatment significantly improves survival chances.
The World Health Organisation has declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, underscoring the need for coordinated international response efforts.
