Today the 11th of January 2023, Uganda has been declared free from Ebola. For emphasis, THERE IS NO EBOLA IN UGANDA (January 2023). There could not have been better news to usher Ugandans into the new year than this declaration. What relief for the country!
Uganda has been a champion in fighting epidemics and this has been another war well won.
To declare Uganda free from Ebola it has taken the required two phases of 21 days of surveillance that should elapse without a new case since the last Ebola case. This is because, 21 days is the maximum incubation period of the virus that causes the Ebola disease. The last positive case of Ebola was recorded on November 29, 2022. That means no new Ebola case has been recorded in Uganda for the last 42 days.
The 2022 Ebola outbreak in Uganda
Uganda confirmed the outbreak of Ebola on 20th of September 2022, and the first affected districts were Mubende, Kasanda and Kyegegwa.
The government declared the districts of Mubende and Kasanda the epicenter of the outbreak and promptly put the two districts under quarantine. There were breakthrough cases from these districts, spreading the outbreak to a few more districts including Kampala.
The rigorous contact tracing by a dedicated team from the Ministry of Health paid off. The breakthrough cases and their contacts were found and put under quarantine.
By the end of the 2022 Ebola outbreak, Uganda recorded 142 positive cases and 87 recovered while 55 died.
It is safe to visit Uganda, there is no Ebola (January 2023)
With Ebola now eliminated and the covid pandemic is almost no more, you can now go ahead with your plans of visit Uganda for your gorilla trekking trip or safari without any worry.