WHO declares Uganda Ebola-free after 42 days with no new cases
The last confirmed patient—an imported case—was discharged on July 16, 2026. Since then, no transmission linked to that person has been documented, according to a WHO report on X.
A healthcare worker—File photo.
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Ebola outbreak in Uganda over on Thursday. The announcement comes after the country went 42 days without a new case, the timeframe used to consider transmission extinguished.
The last confirmed patient—an imported case—was discharged on July 16, 2026. Since then, no transmission linked to that person has been documented, according to a report by the WHO on X.
A small but imported outbreak
According to AFP, Uganda reported 20 cases and two deaths. Almost all of those infected had traveled from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where the epidemic remains severe.
The WHO commended the Ugandan government, healthcare workers and international partners for containing the outbreak and preventing it from spreading throughout the country.
Contrast with the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Ebola is transmitted through contact with bodily fluids and causes a hemorrhagic fever. Uganda, the eastern neighbor of these outbreak areas, managed to break the chain of transmission in time. The Congo, for now, has not.
LATEST
