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At least one person affected by Ebola died in Kampala, Uganda. This is the first time that the virus reached the town, which has 1.5 million inhabitants. The epidemic has already killed 14 people in the country
AFP - The epidemic of haemorrhagic fever Ebola, appeared in early July in western Uganda, spread to the capital Kampala, where at least one patient died, said Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni In a recorded statement released Monday.
This is the first time that the Ebola virus reached the capital, which has about 1.5 million inhabitants.A girl had died in May 2011 at Bombo Hospital, 35 km north of Kampala, but the virus had not spread.
The virus, highly contagious and highly lethal, had killed 37 people during an outbreak between late 2007 and early 2008 in western Uganda. At least 137 patients died during another epidemic in 2000, this time in the north.
The new epidemic that broke out in early July in Kibaale District, about 200 km from the capital and about fifty of the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), has spread to surrounding villages and "at least one or two "patients were registered at Mulago Hospital in Kampala, President Museveni said.
"The Ministry of Health seeks to locate anyone who has been contact with victims. The seven doctors who took care of one of those who arrived at Mulago and died on the spot, and the 13 staff members health for example, were quarantined, "he said.
The virus has so far killed 14 people, said the head of state, confirming the figures given by the World Health Organization (WHO) on Saturday.
He urged people "to report all cases priority resembling Ebola, ie significant fevers, vomiting, diarrhea sometimes accompanied by bleeding."
"I called you to be vigilant, avoid shaking hands, do not charge to bury someone who died of Ebola-like symptoms but call health workers because they know how to do," he said.
"Avoid promiscuity because the disease can also be transmitted sexually," concluded the President, by wishing "good luck" to his fellow citizens. "May God grant that the souls of those who died rest in eternal peace," he added.
Ebola haemorrhagic fever, highly contagious and kills between 25 and 90% of patients, according to WHO. There is no cure or vaccine.
Transmission occurs by direct contact with blood, bodily fluids (sweat, feces ...) and the mishandling of contaminated corpses.
The virus is named after a river in northern DRC where he was spotted for the first time in 1976 between what was then Zaire and Sudan.
Since 1976, fifteen epidemics were recorded in Africa - DRC, Uganda, southern Sudan, Gabon and Congo - affecting more than 1,800 people and leaving over 1,300 dead, according to WHO.
