Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Uganda Ebola Outbreak Under Control - World Health Organisation

 The World Health Organization has said that authorities are halting the spread of Ebola.
Joaquim Saweka, the WHO representative in Uganda, told reporters in Kampala that everyone known to have had contact with Ebola victims has been isolated.

Health officials have created an "Ebola contact list" with names of people who had even the slightest contact with those who contracted Ebola. The list now bears 176 names.

"The structure put in place is more than adequate," Saweka said. "We are isolating the suspected or confirmed cases."

Ebola was confirmed in Uganda on July 28, several days after a few people died in a remote corner of western Uganda. At least 16 Ugandans have died of the disease.

Saweka said that organizations such as Doctors Without Borders and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are helping Ugandan officials to control the spread of Ebola.

This is the fourth outbreak of Ebola in Uganda since 2000, when the disease killed 224 people and left hundreds more traumatized in northern Uganda.

Ebola is highly infectious and kills quickly. The disease was first reported in 1976 in Congo and is named for the river where it was recognized, according to the CDC.



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