In a follow-up on the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) case reported in Uganda,  U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director Robert R. Redfield, M.D. responded:

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.

“This is a sobering development that everyone has been working to avoid, and highlights the complexity of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

“Despite this first case of Ebola in Uganda, officials in DRC and Uganda, alongside partners throughout the international community, are dedicated to bringing the outbreak in Africa to an end.  CDC is working with our response partners to rapidly detect and prevent additional cases in Uganda, and to prevent further spread of Ebola in DRC and to other neighboring countries.”

This is the first time that a case associated with the current outbreak, which began in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in August 2018, has been identified in a neighboring country. This is the first case of Ebola in Uganda since 2013, and the first time that Uganda has reported a case of Zaire ebolavirus.

CDC recognizes that even one case of Ebola diagnosed outside the current outbreak zone in northeastern DRC is a matter of concern. Knowing that the potential for regional spread is high, medical and public health professionals have been preparing to respond. In addition to having staff assisting the Ministry of Health and other partners in DRC, CDC has a country office in Kampala, Uganda, and has been actively supporting the Ugandan Ministry of Health (MOH) to prepare for an Ebola case in the country.

According to the Democratic Republic of the Congo Ministry of Health, since the beginning of the epidemic, the cumulative number of cases is 2,071, 1,977 confirmed and 94 probable. In total, there were 1,396 deaths (1,302 confirmed and 94 probable).