NewsDesk @bactiman63

In a follow-up on the outbreak Ebola disease caused by the Sudan ebolavirus (SUDV) in Uganda, since the outbreak was declared on September 20 through today, a total of 136 confirmed cases and 54 confirmed deaths (CFR 39.7%) have been reported.

18 cases have been reported in health care workers, including seven deaths.

Eight districts have reported cases- Bungyangabu, Kagadi, Kampala, Kassanda, Kyegegwa, Masaka (the most recent), Wakiso and the most affected district, Mubende.

On 1 November 2022, WHO revised the risk assessment for this event from high to very high at the national level, and from low to high at the regional level, while the risk remained low at the global level.

The estimated very high risk at the national level is based on a combination of several factors including the lack of licensed medical countermeasures; the late detection of the SUDV outbreak and its spread to multiple districts (including to larger cities like Kampala, with a population of more than four million people and travel connections to many neighboring countries); a highly mobile population with reports of some high-risk contacts and symptomatic cases traveling between districts using public transportation; despite significant case-finding efforts, there is a possibility that some contacts may have been missed; reported challenges with community engagement in affected districts; many cases have presented at various health facilities with suboptimal infection prevention and control (IPC) practices.

The current outbreak is the first outbreak of Sudan ebolavirus in Uganda since 2012. Uganda has developed an increased capacity to respond to Ebola outbreaks over recent years and has a local capacity mobilized and organized with available resources to provide a robust response, but the system could be overwhelmed if the number of cases continues to rise and the outbreak spreads to other densely populated districts, as the country is simultaneously responding to multiple emergencies including outbreaks of anthrax, COVID-19, Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever, Rift Valley fever and yellow fever, as well as prevailing food insecurity.