KAMPALA, March 19 (Xinhua) -- Uganda on Wednesday discharged the last two remaining Ebola patients, starting a 42-day countdown to declare the end of the latest outbreak if no new cases are recorded, the country's health authorities announced.
A 55-year-old woman from Matuga in the central district of Wakiso and a 45-year-old woman from the western district of Kyegegwa recovered after receiving treatment at Mulago National Referral Hospital in the Ugandan capital of Kampala and Fort Portal Regional Hospital Ebola Treatment Unit in Kabarole District, respectively, said Charles Olaro, acting director general of health services at the Ministry of Health.
"The Ministry of Health has embarked on a 42-day countdown to end the current Ebola outbreak following the recovery and discharge of two patients who tested negative after receiving supportive treatment," Olaro said.
"The discharge of patients does not mean the outbreak is over. An outbreak can only be declared over when no new cases are recorded for 42 days after the last patient has recovered or died," he added.
Olaro said active surveillance and vaccination of contacts of confirmed cases will continue until the outbreak is officially declared over.
Uganda announced two new Ebola cases in Kampala on March 7, just two weeks after discharging all previously infected patients, bringing the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 12 since the outbreak was declared in January.
The country declared an Ebola outbreak on Jan. 30 after a 32-year-old nurse died of the disease in the capital. The second fatality was a four-and-a-half-year-old child from Kibuli, a suburb of Kampala, who died at Mulago National Referral Hospital on Feb. 25.
"The Ministry of Health reassures the public that the situation is under control and that the country remains safe," Olaro said.
"We urge the public to remain vigilant and report individuals exhibiting symptoms consistent with Ebola to the nearest health facility," he added.
According to the World Health Organization data, Uganda's last Ebola outbreak observed from September 2022 to January 2023 resulted in 164 cases and 77 deaths.
