A child in Uganda has died of Ebola, in the first cross-border case of the virus since an outbreak began in neighboring Congo a year ago.
The Uganda office of the World Health Organization, quoting Uganda’s health minister, reported the death of the five-year-old boy Wednesday.
"The young patient - 5- year-old index case of #Ebola died last night. Two more samples were sent to UVRI and have tested positive. We, therefore, have three confirmed cases of #Ebola in #Uganda"- @JaneRuth_Aceng https://t.co/oypAqpNZEW
— WHO Uganda (@WHOUganda) June 12, 2019
Health minister Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng said earlier that the child had been taken to Kagando hospital in western Uganda after he and several family members crossed over from the DRC on Monday.
Aceng said Uganda has confirmed three cases of Ebola in all. She urged Ugandans to cooperate with health officials to prevent the often-deadly virus from spreading to other parts of the country.
Uganda has been in preparedness mode ever since the #Ebola outbreak was declared in DRC.
— Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng Ocero (@JaneRuth_Aceng) June 11, 2019
Now, we move into response mode.
Please cooperate with our health,immigration and security officials to ensure effective screening to prevent spread of #Ebola to other parts of the country.
The WHO and its partners have struggled to contain the Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo, sometimes facing resistance from locals who did not trust health workers.
The WHO says the virus has killed nearly 1,400 people in the region since August of last year.