Uganda deploys health workers to DR Congo to support Ebola response

Kampala, June 8 (IANS) Uganda has deployed a team of health workers to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to help contain the Ebola outbreak in the neighbouring country, a senior health official said on Monday.

Diana Atwine, permanent secretary at Uganda’s Ministry of Health, made the remarks during a meeting with visiting World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in Kampala, Xinhua news agency reported.

According to a post by the ministry on the social media platform X, Atwine said Uganda is also setting up 50-bed treatment units this week to support Ebola response efforts in eastern DRC, the epicentre of the current outbreak.

She added that two mobile laboratories have already been established in the border towns of Bwera and Arua to support Ebola testing and diagnostic services in the DRC.

Tedros commended Uganda’s commitment to responding to Ebola and expressed confidence in the country’s ability to manage the disease.

The WHO chief, who is on a visit to Uganda to support the country’s Ebola response, urged the country to continue supporting the DRC’s efforts to contain the outbreak.

According to the latest figures from the Ministry of Health, Uganda has recorded 19 confirmed Ebola cases so far, including 14 among people who entered from the DRC and five Ugandan nationals. Of the total cases, two people from the DRC have died.

The tally of confirmed Ebola cases in the DRC has risen to 515, including 91 deaths, as the health authorities warned of continued transmission and the risk of further increases if control measures are not put in place quickly.

The update, published on Sunday (local time) by the health ministry, said that three more patients were declared recovered, bringing the count of recoveries to 12 as of June 6.

The report said 117 suspected cases were recorded, while 283 patients remained in isolation or hospitalisation.

–IANS

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