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IN ANY CORRESPONDENCE ON / / Ministry of Health
P. O. Box 7272
Kampala
Uganda
THIS SUBJECT PLEASE QUOTE NO. / THE REPUBLIC OF UGANDAPress Statement on the occasion to mark an end to the Ebola Epidemic
Date:17/06/2011
By
Hon. Dr. Richard Nduhhura
Minister of State – General Duties
Country Representative World Health Organisation
The Permanent Secretary
Director General of Health Services
Senior officials of MOH
Members of the Ebola National Taskforce
Members of the Press
Ladies and Gentlemen
All protocols observed
On behalf of the Ministry of Health and on my own behalf, I take this opportunity to welcome you all to this occasion which is held to mark an end to the Ebola outbreak that hit the country early last month.
As you may recall, we announcedthe outbreak of the epidemic on May 11th after laboratory tests confirmed Ebola to be the cause of illness and death of a 12-year-old girl from Nakisamata village, Ngalonkalu parish, Zirobwe sub-county in Luwero district. This girl died on May 6th at Bombo Military General Hospital after she was admitted with severe fever, bleeding, headache and abdominal pains that had lasted six days.
On confirmation of the case, we took appropriate measures to control the spread of the epidemic. We reactivated the National Taskforce to coordinate all efforts geared towards the control of the epidemic. This force constituted different partners from; World Health Organization, RESPOND, Uganda Red Cross, Centre for Disease Control, MSF-Spain, UNICEF, AFENET, World Vision, Conservation for Public Health, USAID among others.
We further reactivated district taskforces from the neighboring districts of Nakaseke, Mukono, Nakasongola, Wakiso and Kampala. Necessary drug supplies and logistics from different partners were also mobilized to respond to the epidemic.
Bombo Military Hospital which had reported the index case had an isolation centre set up three days after declaring the outbreak. The isolation facility was beefed up with necessary equipment and technical staff to handle any suspected or confirmed cases. Another isolation centre was later set up at Kiwoko Hospital in Luweero district.
To date, only one case has been confirmed. All the 25 people who got in contact with the dead were confirmed Ebola-free on May 27th after the lapse of 21 days. Only four of the contacts developed signs but tested negative for Ebola.
During the course of the outbreak, a total of 17 alert cases were reported from the districts of Kampala, Nakaseke, Bugiri, Gulu, Kabale and Nakasongola. A total of 22 suspects were recorded with 20 of them being admitted at Bombo Military General Hospital. Tests from all the suspects tested negative.
We successfully managed to control the epidemic, recording no new cases, due to our previous experience in handling the disease. As you may recall, we were faced with the same epidemic in 2007 and 2001 in Bundibugyo and Gulu respectively.
So due to the previous experience, health workers at Bombo Military General Hospital were fast to diagnose a viral hemorrhagic fever. They then took appropriate measures while treating the patient and later the body. This explains why all people who got in contact with the dead did not contract the disease.
As we mark the end of the outbreak, we continue to heighten our surveillance throughout the country especially in the central region districts of Kampala, Nakasongola, Nakaseke, Wakiso, Mukono and Luweero. Ecological studies to find out the cause of the disease are still ongoing.
I take this opportunity to acknowledge the work of the National Taskforce and other organizations that intervened on the onset of the epidemic.
Special recognition goes to the following organizations for their commitment towards the campaign.
World Health Organization - for providing technical support and surveillance;
Centre for Disease Control (CDC) - for conducting laboratory services at the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) and providing emergency supplies;
RESPOND – for undertaking ecological studies and surveillance;
UNICEF – for technical support and providing emergency supplies
Uganda Red Cross Society – for community mobilization and offering psycho-social support to the communities
AFENET – for surveillance and case management in addition to funding publicity activities
USAID – for providing emergency supplies
World Vision Uganda – for community mobilization and publicity
MSF-Spain - for technical support, erecting the isolation centre at Bombo hospital, running it and providing emergency supplies.
The Ministry of Health reaffirms its commitment to putting up all necessary measures to control epidemics in the country.
I appeal to all partners in the National Taskforce to remain committed in the fight against epidemics.
As I conclude, I also appeal to the public to be vigilant and report any suspicious disease to health authorities.
Thank you for listening
I say this forFor God and My country
Hon. Dr. Richard Nduhuura
Minister of State for General Duties