Uganda discharges last Ebola patient, starts countdown to be declared virus-free

• Uganda discharged its last Ebola patient on July 16, starting a 42-day countdown to be declared virus-free according to WHO guidelines.
• Uganda has confirmed 20 cases of the Bundibugyo Ebola strain since May, mostly infected people coming from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
• While Uganda has had no new cases since June 22, the DRC continues to report many new infections, with over 2,000 confirmed cases so far.

KAMPALA – Uganda discharged its last remaining Ebola patient on July 16, triggering a 42-day countdown after which it can be declared free of the virus, the East African nation’s health ministry said.

Uganda has confirmed a total of 20 cases of the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola since mid-May. Fifteen of those were people who were infected in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, the epicentre of the outbreak, and who then travelled to Uganda.

Unlike in the DRC, where cases are still surging, Uganda has not reported a new case since June 22.

The DRC reported 62 new cases on July 16, taking its total number of confirmed infections to 2,073, though the World Health Organization has said the true tally could be at least double that.

“Today, Uganda has discharged the last Ebola patient, a Congolese national who has successfully recovered and (is) ready to be with his family,” Uganda’s health ministry said in a post on X.

On July 15, government spokesperson Alan Kasujja said the patient would be released from an isolation unit at the Mulago National Referral Hospital in the capital Kampala.

“Uganda starts counting down,” he wrote on X. “If 42 days pass without a single new case, WHO guidelines stipulate that we will be declared Ebola-free.” REUTERS