Uganda declared its Ebola outbreak over after completing the required 42-day monitoring period without detecting a new case. The health minister said the last Ugandan patient, a locally transmitted case, had been discharged on June 16. Of the 20 confirmed cases recorded during the outbreak, 18 people recovered and two died; the deaths were of people from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.\n\nThe declaration is a public-health milestone, but not a reason to abandon surveillance. Ebola spreads through contact with bodily fluids and can move across borders through travel and family networks. The neighbouring DRC was still dealing with a much larger outbreak, and the virus variant identified there had no approved vaccine or treatment at the time of the report.\n\nUganda’s response shows the value of monitoring after the last patient leaves hospital. Global Talks will report outbreak declarations with both parts of the story: the evidence supporting the end of transmission and the regional measures needed to prevent reintroduction.
Uganda ends Ebola monitoring period as regional risk remains
