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South Sudan steps up surveillance as Uganda declares Ebola outbreak

Author: Michael Daniel | Published: January 30, 2025

Dr. Kediende Chong, Director General for Preventive Health Services and Emergency Response at the national ministry of health speaks on Eye Radio's Dawn Show. |Photo by Lou Nelson-13/01/2025

South Sudan’s Ministry of Health has announced urgent measures to boost surveillance and response at key entry points following Uganda’s declaration of Sudan ebolavirus outbreak in Kampala.

According to Dr. Kediende Chong, Director General of Preventive Health Services and Emergency Response, South Sudan is at increased risk due to frequent cross-border movement.

Dr. Chong narrated that the health ministry received a statement from the Ugandan Ministry of Health notifying them of the ebolavirus outbreak.

He said due to population movement between the two countries, Juba has put Surveillance measures in place at key points of entry, including Juba International Airport and Nimule.

“We have received a statement from the Ugandan Minister of Health declaring outbreak of Sudan Ebola type in Kampala,” he said in an interview with Eye Radio.

“There is lot of population movement between us and Uganda. We are at a greater risk and that calls for us to put in place an urgent mechanism to strengthen our surveillance and prevention measures, particularly at the point of entry.”

“These include Juba International Airport and Nimule and other COEs. We also have said we are going to monitor the situation and we will keep our public informed.”

Early on Thursday, Uganda’s Ministry of Health declared an outbreak of the relatively rare Sudan ebolavirus – with one case in Kampala that was confirmed during examination from 3 national reference laboratories.

Health official Dr. Diana Atwine said the case is of a 32-year-old male nurse, an employee of Mulago National Referral Hospital and has died yesterday.

The victim initially developed fever-like symptoms and sought treatment at multiple health facilities, said the health official.

She said 44 contacts have so far been listed including 30 Health workers and patients from Mulago, 11 Family Members of the deceased, and 4 health workers from Saidina Abubakar Islamic Hospital in Matugga.

– Sudan ebolavirus –

Little-known than Ebola Zaire, Sudan ebolavirus are members of the same Filoviridae virus family and are commonly referred to as filoviruses.

Both can cause severe hemorrhagic fever in humans and nonhuman primates. While there are two approved vaccines for Ebola Zaire, no licensed vaccines exist to protect against Sudan ebolavirus.

Sudan ebolaviruses are transmitted to humans by infected animals, particularly fruit bats. Once a human is infected, the virus can spread to others through close personal contact or contact with bodily fluids. Isolation of infected people is currently the centerpiece of filovirus control.

Ebola was identified in 1976 when two simultaneous outbreaks occurred in northern Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) in a village near the Ebola River and southern Sudan.

The outbreaks involved what eventually proved to be two different species of Ebola virus; both were named after the nations in which they were discovered.

 

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