Uganda announces containment of Ebola outbreak
The outbreak was first reported on January 30, following the death of a male nurse.
Ugandan authorities declared on Saturday, April 27, 2025, the conclusion of the country’s most recent Ebola outbreak, three months after initial cases were confirmed in the capital city, Kampala.
The outbreak was first reported on January 30, following the death of a male nurse who had tested positive for the highly contagious and often fatal viral hemorrhagic fever.
"Good news! The current Ebola Sudan Virus Disease outbreak has officially come to an end," the health ministry said in a post on the X platform.
The ministry announced the official end of the outbreak, noting that 42 days had passed without any new infections since the last confirmed patient was released.
However, the post did not include an updated total number of cases from the outbreak.
The most recent figures, shared by the ministry in early March 2025, indicated at least ten infections and two fatalities.
Ebola outbreaks are common in Uganda, where dense tropical forests serve as natural reservoirs for the virus.
The latest outbreak, linked to the Sudan strain of Ebola — for which no approved vaccine exists — marked Uganda’s ninth occurrence since it first reported a case in 2000.
Uganda shares a border with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a country that has experienced more than a dozen Ebola outbreaks, including a major one between 2018 and 2020 that claimed nearly 2,300 lives.
The outbreak began in Kampala, a bustling city of roughly four million people and a major hub connecting routes to eastern Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, and South Sudan.
Despite the frequency of outbreaks, health officials note that Uganda’s accumulated experience in handling the virus has helped it respond swiftly and effectively.
Ebola spreads through contact with infected bodily fluids and tissues.
Common symptoms include headaches, muscle aches, vomiting blood, and internal or external bleeding.