Uganda has confirmed three additional cases of Ebola, bringing the total number of infections in the current outbreak to five. The new cases include a driver who transported the country's first confirmed patient and a health worker who was exposed while providing care.
Both individuals are undergoing treatment after being identified through contact tracing. A third case involves a woman from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) who entered Uganda with mild abdominal symptoms. She travelled from Arua to Entebbe before seeking treatment at a private hospital in Kampala, where she later tested positive.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has raised the risk of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola turning into a national outbreak in the DRC to "very high". There is no approved vaccine or treatment for this strain. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the potential for rapid spread is "very high", prompting a revision of risk assessments.
So far, 82 cases have been confirmed in the DRC, with seven confirmed deaths and 177 suspected deaths. Measures taken in Uganda, including intense contact tracing and the cancellation of a mass gathering, appear to have been effective in stemming the spread, according to Tedros.
The UK has pledged up to £20 million to contain the outbreak in eastern DRC and Uganda. The funding, from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, will support frontline health workers, infection control, and disease surveillance.
