The World Health Organization through its Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, said on Friday December 8 that Uganda has successfully contained an outbreak of Marburg virus disease and also prevented its spread just weeks after it was first detected.
The Ugandan Ministry of Health notified WHO of the outbreak on October 17, after laboratory tests established that the demise of a 50-year-old woman was due to infection with the Marburg virus. A Public Health Emergency Operations Centre was immediately activated and a national taskforce led the response.
Three people died during the outbreak which affected Kween and Kapchorwa districts in eastern Uganda near the Kenyan border.
The Marburg Virus Disease epidemic was declared contained by the Ministry of Health after contacts of confirmed patients completed 21 days of follow up to account for the 21-day incubation period of the virus and an additional 21 days of intensive surveillance was completed in affected districts.
The Ugandan Minister of Health, Sarah Opendi said “As evidenced by the quick and robust response to the Marburg virus disease outbreak, we are committed to protecting people by ensuring that all measures are in place for early detection and immediate response to all viral haemorrhagic fever outbreaks."
Within 24 hours of being informed by Ugandan health authorities in early October, WHO deployed a rapid response team to the remote mountainous area.
WHO also released US$623,000 from its Contingency Fund for Emergencies (CFE) to finance immediate support and scale up of the response in Uganda and Kenya.
In subsequent weeks, WHO and partners supported laboratory testing and surveillance, the search for new cases and their contacts, establishing infection prevention measures in health facilities, managing and treating cases, and engaging with communities.
Surveillance and contact tracing on the Kenyan side of the border by the Kenyan Ministry of Health and partners also prevented cross-border spread of the disease.
The organization will continue to support health authorities in both countries to upgrade their surveillance and response capabilities including infection prevention and control measures, and case management.
