Second Ebola Death in Uganda Highlights Challenges in Containing Outbreak

A four-year-old child has died from the Sudan strain of Ebola, raising concerns over the effectiveness of surveillance and funding cuts impacting response efforts.

• Uganda has reported its second Ebola death in the current outbreak, involving a four-year-old child who passed away after receiving treatment in Kampala.
• The outbreak, declared on January 30, involves the Sudan strain of Ebola, for which no approved vaccine exists, complicating containment efforts.
• Health officials had been optimistic after discharging eight patients earlier in February, but the source of the outbreak remains under investigation.
• The World Health Organization has allocated $3 million to Uganda's response, yet funding constraints have arisen due to significant cuts in USAID contracts, affecting NGO support for disease surveillance.
• Ebola, a viral hemorrhagic fever spread through contact with infected bodily fluids, has caused multiple outbreaks in Uganda, with the most recent in 2022 claiming 55 lives.

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Al Jazeera The Independent