Ebola Death Toll Rises to 115 in UgandaFive new Ebola deaths and two new cases have been reported in Gulu district in northern Uganda in the past three days, bringing the death toll to 115 and the total number of cases to 331 in the country, Uganda Health Ministry announced Friday in Kampala."In southern district of Mbarara, there has been no new admission over the past eight days, and the cumulative figure there remains five cases and four deaths," Alex Opio, Assistant Commissioner of National Disease Control, told a news briefing at the ministry's headquarters. "In Masindi district in western Uganda the situation remains the same, and no new case has been detected," said Opio, adding that active surveillance and public education continue to be delivered in the district. He said that to date, Ebola cases have only been confirmed in Gulu, Mbarara and Masindi districts. "It is encouraging to note that the number of new cases has significantly gone down," he added. So far 206 patients have fully recovered from Ebola in Gulu and been discharged, and there are only 20 patients still in ward in Gulu. "We can declare Ebola-free in Gulu after we monitor 42 days following the last patient discharged from hospital," said Opio. Meanwhile, the blood samples of seven Kenyans who attended the funeral of four Ugandan Ebola victims in Masindi have been sent to South Africa for test, and the results are expected to come out early next week, according to the assistant commissioner. It is the first time that Ebola has stricken Uganda. The outbreak of the disease took place in southern Sudan in 1979, and it hit Kikwit, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing over 300 people in 1995. |
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