Uganda’s Minister of Health, Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng, has revealed that a fatal Ebola case has been reported in Jinja city.
Aceng made the revelation on Sunday in a tweet, saying the victim was contact of another probable case.
“A confirmed fatal Ebola case has been reported in Kayalwe B village, Buyengo sub-county, Jinja district. This was a 45-year-old male who is linked to a probable case, his brother. The brother, who is linked to the Rubaga cluster travelled to Jinja where he was ill for 10 days and passed on the 3rd November 2022. The confirmed fatal case also died at his home on 10th November and was buried on 12th November,” Aceng said.
She added that a sample was obtained on the 10th from the dead body, by healthworkers from St Catherine Medical center, Luzinya Buwenge, a private clinic where he had sought treatment before passing on. Contact tracing and epidemiological investigations have been activated.
It is the first case to be reported in Jinja city since the disease broke out on September 20th.
From when the outbreak was declared on 20 September until 7 November, a total of 136 confirmed cases and 53 confirmed deaths (CFR 38.9%) from Ebola disease caused by the Sudan ebolavirus (SUDV) have been reported, representing an increase of 18% and 66% respectively since the last DON published on 28 October 2022.
In addition, 21 probable deaths have been also reported since the beginning of the outbreak, with the last probable death notified on 29 September. Three additional cases and three additional deaths have been reported among healthcare workers since 28 October, resulting in a total of 18 cases and seven deaths among these workers.
The most affected district remains Mubende with 63 (46%) confirmed cases and 29 (55%) confirmed deaths, followed by Kassanda with 46 (34%) confirmed cases and 19 (36%) confirmed deaths. Two districts, Bunyangabu and Kagadi, have not reported cases for more than 40 days.
As of 7 November, a total of 1386 contacts in seven districts are currently under surveillance, with a follow-up rate of 92%.