By NewsDesk   @bactiman63

The Uganda Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization (WHO) report it has been 37 days since the last confirmed Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) case as of January 3, 2023.

Produced by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), under a very-high magnification, this digitally-colorized scanning electron micrograph (SEM) depicts a single filamentous Ebola virus particle that had budded from the surface of a VERO cell of the African green monkey kidney epithelial cell line.

On 20th September 2022, the Ministry of Health declared an outbreak of Sudan Ebola Virus (SVD) after a case managed at Mubende Regional Referral Hospital (MRRH) in Mubende district was confirmed through testing at the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI).

To date, 142 confirmed EVD cases, including 55 deaths have been reported (39% CFR).

For an outbreak to be declared over, no confirmed or probable EVD cases are detected for a period of 42 days (i.e. twice the maximum incubation period for Ebola infections) since the last potential
exposure to the last case occurred.

After the 42-day period has elapsed and the outbreak has been declared over, a combination of
active and passive surveillance should be maintained for at least 6 months due to the risk of  re-emergence of EVD through a reintroduction event or a new emergence, and the possibility of a missed transmission chain.

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Sudan virus disease is a severe, often fatal illness affecting humans. Sudan virus was first reported in southern Sudan in June 1976, since then the virus has emerged periodically and up to now, seven outbreaks caused by SUDV have been reported, four in Uganda and three in Sudan. The estimated case fatality ratios of SVD have varied from 41% to 100% in past outbreaks.