President Museveni to Adress the Nation on Ebola Status Tomorrow

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KAMPALA:

President Yoweri Museveni is on Tuesday 15.11.2022 (tomorrow) expected to address the nation on the current status of Ebola Outbreak in the country.

According to senior presidential secretary Sandor Walusimbi, the president’s address will be broadcasted live on all radios and TVs tomorrow at 8:00 pm.

In his last address, the president directed for an overnight curfew, closing places of worship and entertainment, and restricting movement into and out of two districts affected by Ebola for 21 days. The lockdown has since been extended by more 21 days.

Through his Twitter platform, the president recently ruled out an Ebola lockdown for the rest of the country, while urging the public to concentrate on work.

According to the latest update from the Ministry of Health as of November 6, Ebola has killed about 54 people and infected 139 people.

Ebola has been registered in 9 districts including; Mubende, Kassanda, Kyegegwa, Kagadi, Bunyagabu, Wakiso, Masaka, and Kampala with the latest being Jinja where one fatal case was confirmed over the weekend.

Sudan Ebola Virus was last confirmed in Uganda in 2012-2013 with 6 Confirmed Cases and 3 deaths and case fatality rate of 100%. On 20th September 2022, Uganda declared an outbreak of Ebola Virus disease after a case was confirmed in a village of Madudu Sub County in Mubende district, about 200Kms West of the Capital city.

The first case was a 24-year-old-male who developed a wide range of symptoms on 11th September 2022, including high grade fever, tonic convulsion, blood-stained Vomit and diarrhoea, loss of appetite, pain while swallowing, chest pain, dry cough and bleeding in the eyes.

Uganda got first hit by Sudan Ebola Virus in 2000-2001 where 425 cases were registered with 224 deaths and fatality rate of 53 percent. In 2007-2008, another species of Budibugyo Ebola Virus was also reported with 131 registered cases and 42 deaths and 32 percent fatality rate.

Sudan Ebola Virus again got reported in the country and one case got reported, one death was registered with a case fatality rate of 100%. In 2012, the country again confirmed Sudan Ebola Virus and 11 cases were reported with 4 deaths and case fatality rate of 36%.

In 2019, the Ministry confirmed Zaire Ebola Virus with 4 cases, 4 deaths and case fatality rate of 100%.

COMMON SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS

The Ebola virus disease (EVD) is a deadly disease with occasional outbreaks that occur mostly on the African continent. EVD most commonly affects people and nonhuman primates (such as monkeys, gorillas, and chimpanzees). It is caused by an infection with a group of viruses within the genus Ebolavirus.

Symptoms may appear anywhere from 2 to 21 days after contact with the virus, with an average of 8 to 10 days. The course of the illness typically progresses from “dry” symptoms initially (such as fever, aches and pains, and fatigue), and then progresses to “wet” symptoms (such as diarrhea and vomiting) as the person become sicker.

The Primary signs and symptoms of Ebola often include some or several of the following:

Fever

Aches and pains, such as severe headache and muscle and joint pain

Weakness and fatigue

Sore throat

Loss of appetite

Gastrointestinal symptoms including abdominal pain, diarrhea, and

vomiting

Unexplained hemorrhaging, bleeding or bruising